Baby Ray
by RobinLady-in-Waiting
Summary: Ray's cousin makes him legal guardian of her newborn and he must take care of the baby when he's doing good to take care of himself. With Fraser and the gang's help he'll have to take on the responsibility.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

_**The Twenty-seventh Precinct ….**_

"Ray, someone wants you, line two." Francesca shouted across the bull pen over her shoulder.

"Thank you, Frannie." Ray stuck his tongue out at her. She just rolled her eyes and went back to buffing her nails.

"Ray here." He picked up the phone quickly and answered.

"Ray, it's Mom, I have bad news." The detective sat bolt upright in his swivel chair, his attitude suddenly changed.

"Is Dad alright?" A thousand things ran through his mind; heart attack, stroke, car accident, household accident, the unknown.

"Your father is alright, Ray, it's your cousin Rachel, there's been a car accident and her husband is dead and she's in the hospital." The older woman let out a ragged, tired sigh.

"Tommy was stationed at Ft. Knox, in Kentucky, she's in the VA Medical Center in Lexington." Ray tried to remember what Tommy looked like. He remembered him as a tall, dark haired guy who liked to watch Leslie Nielsen movies and talk about trucks.

"How's the baby, how's ah, Ramona?" Ray winced at the sound of a female version of his name.

"The baby's fine, she was with one of the other Army wives at the time of the accident. Your father and I are leaving to go visit, I'm Rachel's only living relative since her mother died." Ray's dad's voice sounded in the background but he couldn't hear what he said.

"I have to get going, honey, I'll call you tomorrow evening with more details."

"You want me to come with you, I could get a few days off?" Ray offered, wondering exactly how many vacation and sick days he had left.

"No, there's no need for that, Ray, it'll be good to see the Mississippi again. I love you, take care of yourself and say hello to that nice Canadian friend of yours for me." Ray could hear his mom's smile across the line.

"Yeah, Ma, I will, you and Dad be careful, bye." Ray hung up the phone feeling apprehensive. He'd known Rachel his whole life, they'd grown up together. While he went to the police academy she'd gone to college, that's where she'd met Tommy Addison. They'd fallen in love and gotten married within a year. Rachel had moved east a few years ago to be with him when he'd been transferred to Ft. Knox. Baby Ramona was their first child.

Ray was pondering all this when Fraser walked up to his desk, his usual, cheerful self.

"Good morning, Ray, how are you?" The Mountie removed his Stetson and hung it on the coat tree near the wall. Ray jerked out of his reverie.

"Oh, hey, Frase, I just got some bad news, my cousin and her husband were in a car crash, Tommy's dead and Rachel's in the hospital."

"That's tragic, my condolences, Ray." Fraser took a seat across the desk from his unlikely partner.

"Thanks," Ray looked into the distance, wondering about his cousin as the rest of the precinct went about the business of living.

"Mom and Dad are takin' the RV back to, to, uh, Kentucky to visit, Mom's the only living relative Rachel's got."

"Isn't Rachel the cousin you sent a baby shower gift to last month?" Fraser remembered walking around JC Penny with the blond detective to help him choose a gift.

"Yea, that's her," His features changed into a smile, "It was always a race between us, who would get married first, have kids first, that kind of stuff." Ray's smile faded, Rachel had beat him on both accounts. "I should call Stella, she and Rachel were good friends growing up."

"I'll leave you to it, Ray, let me know if you need anything." Fraser offered genuinely.

"Thanks, buddy, I'll talk to you later." Ray picked up the phone and dialed his ex-wife's office.

_**Kentucky ….**_

"Mrs. Kowalski, your niece has been in a catatonic state since the accident. Other than a broken collar bone and other minor scrapes and bruises she'll be fine." The young doctor assured the older couple standing at the foot of Rachel's bed.

"Thank you, Dr. Patel." Mrs. Kowalski took her husband's hand as they stood at the foot of the hospital bed. Rachel stared straight ahead, her gray-blue eyes dull. The doctor left them to visit in peace.

"Poor girl, I can't begin to imagine what she's going through." The thin framed woman took a seat beside her niece and took her hand. Rachel didn't move, didn't acknowledge their presence.

"She's strong, Dana, she'll be fine, just give it some time." Damian Kowalski assured his wife in his gruff but gentle way.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski?" A young woman's voice interrupted the couple.

"Yes?" Mrs. Kowalski stood up, her eyes lighting up when she saw the young woman holding her two week old great niece.

"I'm Jill, we spoke on the phone a few days ago." The petite brunette led a toddler along behind her, a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll dragging the floor.

"Yes, Jill, you've been taking care of Ramona while Rachel's in the hospital, thank you so much." Mrs. Kowalski rushed to see the tiny baby girl in the younger woman's arms.

"She's such a good baby, it's been my pleasure." Jill set a large, pink diaper bag on a pastel upholstered chair and turned to lift her son onto the chair as well. The small, dark haired boy watched all the adults with curious, brown eyes.

"I was so heartbroken to hear about Tommy dying in the accident, it was a drunk driver." Jill turned to gaze mournfully at her friend.

"How long have you known Tommy and Rachel?" Mr. Kowalski asked, his hands shoved down into his jeans pockets.

"A year and a half now, my husband, Kevin, and Tommy were in the same platoon." Jill's face brightened when she said her own husband's name but she knew that it could just have easily been her lying in that bed and her husband in a flag draped coffin. "Rachel and Tommy were so much in love, little Ramona was so important to both of them. I had to beg her to take a night off so she and Tommy could have a dinner date, they were planning on picking her up after dinner." Jill sighed, thinking how odd it seemed that she'd never see Tommy again.

"Do you know what arrangements they made for little Ramona?" Damian asked, his thoughts on what should happen next.

"Rachel didn't tell you?" Jill's brow knit as she looked from one to the other of them.

"No, tell us what dear?" Mrs. Kowalski asked, looking up from little Ramona's sleeping face.

"Your son is Ramona's legal guardian in case anything should happen to either of them." She seemed puzzled that the Kowalskis didn't already know.

"Our Ray, legal guardian?" Damian chuckled. His son hadn't even kept a gold fish alive as a kid.

"Yes, she told me about it a few months before the baby was born. Rachel said that Ray was like her older brother and that she wouldn't trust the baby with anyone else." The young woman turned to check on her toddler, who was making faces at his stuffed Mickey doll.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Kowalski said, her light eyes wide as she looked to her husband. The older man had a grim expression on his face as he met his wife's gaze. Ray had a very dangerous job, what with being undercover and having a lightning rod for a best friend in Constable Fraser.

"Rachel gave me a card for her lawyer a while back, let me get it for you." Jill began digging through her small purse tucked inside the diaper bag. A moment later she came up with a small, white business card and handed it to Damian Kowalski.

"Waite, Ford, Dixie, and Associates"

"Mommy, I gotta go!" The little boy tugged on the hem of Jill's plain blue blouse, his knees pressed together.

"Excuse me." Jill picked him up and rushed to the bathroom near the front door of the private hospital room.

"Oh Max, you should have said something sooner." Her voice carried through the closed door.

"What are we going to do, Damian, Ray's not ready to raise a child." Mrs. Kowalski turned to her husband.

"Were you and me ready when Ray came along?" The older man let a tired smile through.

"No, but we at least had each other, Ray's single, he works all the time, how's he supposed to raise a baby, and what about Rachel, how do we justify taking her daughter from here in Kentucky all the way to Chicago?" Mrs. Kowalski pointed out, still holding sleeping Ramona.

"Rachel will understand, this is what she wants. She won't be in this hospital forever." Damian countered, taking his wife by the shoulders.

"Is this what's right for the baby though?" Mrs. Kowalski looked up at him beseechingly.

"You and I will be around to help, besides, this may be just what Ray needs to make him see that he needs to settle down." Damian smiled indulgently at him.

"You're right, sweetheart." She shook her head as she looked down into the precious face of her great niece.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_**Ray's Apartment …**_.

Ray turned up his third can of A&W Root beer when he heard the phone ring. Sitting on the couch, he grabbed the remote to mute the hockey game while Fraser grabbed the phone.

"Ray Vecchio's residence, Benton Fraser speaking." He answered clearly.

"Ray, it's your mother." Ben handed his unlikely partner the receiver then returned to his seat on the opposite end of the couch.

"Hi, Ma, how's Deliverance territory?" Ray's gaze didn't leave the television screen as he listened to his mother's voice telling him about Rachel's condition.

"I'm what?" The blond detective leaned forward, setting his aluminum can on the coffee table where his feet had been propped up a moment before. Fraser slid a cork coaster beneath the damp can.

"That's crazy, why would Rachel do such a dumb thing?" Ray's brows knit as he looked at the television, this time not seeing the action. "When are you and Dad, uh, driving back, er do I need to fly to Kentucky to pick up, to, uh, pick up baby Ramona?" Fraser listened intently to his friend's side of the conversation but his keen ears could discern Mrs. Kowalski's voice over the phone line.

"Alright, Ma, I'll fly out first thing, love you too, Ma, you and Dad take care." Ray hung up the phone, still in shock from the news.

"Your cousin made you her daughter's legal guardian?" Fraser asked, though he knew the answer.

"Queer, ain't it, Rachel's like my younger sister but, this is just a kick in the head." Ray ran his hands down his face, trying to figure out his cousin's screwy logic.

"I'm certain she trusts you to take care of her daughter as well as she would if she were able." Ben offered,

"Ah, Frase, ninety percent of the time you end up takin' care of me, how am I gonna take care of a newborn?" Ray shook his head, his mind still blown.

"You have an adequate support system consisting of both your parents, myself, Francesca and Lieutenant Welsh." Ben pointed out.

"What's that old sayin', the ah, the best care is mommy care, somethin' like that." Ray ran his fingers through his gelled, blond hair.

"A true statement, unfortunately a mother isn't always capable of caring for her child." The Mountie thought back to his own mother and was grateful anew for his grandparents and their willingness to take on a child in their old age.

"Wonder why Tommy's family didn't take the baby?" Ray turned the subject in a different direction. He didn't want to shirk his responsibility but he didn't think he was the right guy for the job either.

"Perhaps there are numerous reasons, I would assume he was in complete agreement for you to be the baby's legal guardian or they would have made other arrangements." Ray looked over at his logical friend and knew Fraser was right.

"Guess I better call Welsh and tell him I'm gonna be off work for a, for a few days." Ray picked up the telephone and began dialing his superior officer.

"Perhaps I could accompany you, Ray, there isn't anything particularly pressing going on at the consulate just now, I'm certain Inspector Thatcher would be willing to grant me leave for a few days." Fraser volunteered. The Mountie's secondary motivation was exploration. All he knew of the Appalachian region of the United States had come from his grandparents' library, the majority of that information he suspected was outdated and incorrectly stereotypical.

"Greatness, buddy, you speak hillbilly with all those other languages you're always spoutin?" Ray teased, grinning as Lt. Welsh answered his home phone. The look the Mountie gave him told Ray that he didn't appreciate his humor in the least.

After telling Welsh the reason he needed a few days off, the older officer laughed on the other end of the line. It wasn't what Ray had hoped or expected to hear.

"Is the Mountie going with you?" Welsh asked, still amused at the thought of Ray being responsible for a child.

"Yeah, he's goin'. Ray answered, one hand massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Best of luck, Detective." Welsh said with a chuckle before hanging up.

"Yeah, thank, Lieutenant." Ray put the phone back on the cradle, glaring at it as if it were Welsh. A few minutes later Fraser had made similar arrangements with Thatcher.

_**Seven O'clock the Next Morning …**_.

"Good morning, Ray, beautiful day isn't it." Fraser greeted his friend, taking a deep breath of air as they met outside the consulate. The blond detective looked at him through one open eye like he should have his head examined. Fraser ignored him, it wasn't the first time someone had given him that look, he knew it wouldn't be the last.

"We should be going, our flight will leave in just over two hours, seventeen seconds." Fraser picked up his rucksack and slipped his Stetson on as Ray got out to open the trunk of the GTO.

"How are you such a, a, whatcha call it, a morning person?" Ray grumbled, his large McDonald's coffee in his free hand.

"I always have been, Ray. Why aren't you bright eyed and bushy tailed?" Ben asked his friend, watching him turn one blue eye at him with disgust.

"If you want bright eyed and bushy tailed, go catch a squirrel, Fraser." Ray wrinkled his nose and slammed the trunk.

"Suit your self, Ray, but how you chose to greet the morning determines how well the rest of your day goes." Fraser settled himself into the front seat of the American muscle car.

Ray cocked an eye brow as he slid the classic beauty into gear and took off toward O'Hare Airport.

_**Bluegrass Airport …. **_

The low foothills of the Appalachian Mountains settled into farm country surrounding Lexington, Kentucky, self proclaimed _'Horse Capital of the World'._ Crystal clear blue skies with puffy, dumpling clouds greeted the arriving pair from the mid-west. Lexington, one of the largest, most influential cities in the region, was barely a drop in the bucket compared to Chicago. Still, the city sprawled into what had once been large, tobacco farms only two generations before.

"Ray, did you know that Abraham Lincoln was the only United States president to have a patent?" Fraser asked, looking out the window of the plane at the green expanses below.

"No, sure didn't, only thing I know about Honest Abe is that he's on the five dollar bill." Ray looked straight ahead, trying to remain calm by watching the flight attendant passing down the aisle.

After landing at the Bluegrass Airport, Ray and Fraser hailed a cab. A guy with a baseball cap on pulled up and put it in gear. He had a contented smile on his face and a three day beard.

"Where ya'll headed, boys?" The driver asked looking in the rear view mirror.

"VA Hospital, thank you kindly." Fraser answered, tucking his ruck sack between him and Ray. The driver pulled into the flow of traffic and found his way onto New Circle Road. Arching around Lexington, it passed all the major spots in the city.

"Where you boys from if you don't mind me askin'?" The driver asked, glancing in his rear view mirror as he navigated around several of UK's buildings.

"Chicago." Ray answered, looking at the comely coeds walking down the sidewalk.

"The North West Territories of Canada." Fraser answered, his keen eyes taking in the variety of vegetation growing in the flower beds in front of the Georgian style buildings along Rose Street.

"Say again, Mister?" The driver stopped at a red light and turned to hear Fraser more clearly.

"I'm an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as a child I spent part of my childhood in Tuktoyuktuk located in the North West Territories." Fraser clarified in his wordy fashion.

"You're yankin' my chain, ain't ya Mister." The driver chuckled, taking off his baseball cap and scratching his buzz cut.

"He's the real McCoy, buddy, see the big hat, don't get him started or we'll be here all day listening to Inuit stories." Ray leaned forward in the seat to look the guy in the eye. The driver just shook his head, wondering where these foreigners came from. The wiry fella, he was an American alright, but the other one, he was something else.

"Here you go fellas, have a good one." They pulled up to a tall, dull looking building with two large letters seeming to peer down on them from the fifth or sixth floor. Ray slid out and pulled the cab fare from his wallet.

"Hey, Mister, can I ask a favor?" The cab driver hollered out the window as Fraser stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Yes, Sir?" The Mountie slipped his Stetson on and leaned down to look in the driver's window.

"My little girl thinks Canadian money is pretty, I'd trade you for a coin or somethin', she puts 'em up with her coin collection." He shifted around until he'd pulled out his wallet. Fraser saw the flash of bills, what few there were, and took his Stetson off. He pulled out a bill and handed it to the man.

"She'll love it when I told her I met a Mountie today." The driver grinned, thinking of his little girl's reaction to the story. He pulled a five and a few ones out of his wallet to offer Fraser in return for a one.

"Thank you kindly, Sir, but consider it a tip." The Mountie declined with a smile and a nod.

"Thanks, Mister, ya'll have a good visit." With a wave of this baseball cap the driver pulled back into traffic.

"And I thought you stood out in Chicago." Ray snickered as he dragged his suitcase onto the sidewalk.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_**VA Hospital ….**_

"Hi, Ma, how's it goin'?" Ray set his suitcase beside the door of Rachel's hospital room and walked over to his mother. The smaller, bird-like woman turned, her face lighting up when she saw her son.

"Ray, you're here, why didn't you call and I would have had your dad pick you up." Mrs. Kowalski offered taking her son in a rib cracking hug.

"Hello Mrs. Kowalski, Mr. Kowalski." Fraser dropped his rucksack on the floor beside Ray's bag and stepped quietly into the room.

"Hello, Constable Fraser, Ray didn't tell us you were coming with him." Damian Kowalski shook the Canadian's hand firmly before his wife turned loose of Ray and gave the Mountie a hug as well. Ray saw the awkward expression cross his friend's face as his mother embraced him. Benton had never said it but Ray knew that Mrs. Kowalski reminded him of his own mother. The detective turned to his dad, giving him a quick man-hug.

"How's Rachel doin?" Ray asked his father who wore a grim expression.

"The same." The older man shrugged, looking at his niece. He'd come to think of her as a daughter when she and Ray were small.

"Where's the, where's Ramona?" Ray leaned on the foot of his cousin's bed, wishing she would sit up and tell them it was all a horrible joke.

"Rachel's friend Jill is keeping her until we can get this sorted out, she's supposed to call later today to check in." Mrs. Kowalski shook her head as she peered down at her niece.

"What is Rachel's prognosis, if you don't mind me asking?" Fraser asked, perched on the window sill in the corner.

"The doctor said she's catatonic, what ever that is." Mrs. Kowalski shrugged.

"A phase of schizophrenia characterized by periods of withdrawal alternating with periods of agitation." Fraser defined quickly.

"Schizophrenia, you mean she's got some kind of mental problem?" Damian asked, his gravelly voice skeptical.

"Rachel would have told us something like that." Mrs. Kowalski turned to him, aghast. Ray stood with his hand over his mouth, peering into space above Rachel's headboard.

"She may not have been aware of her condition, Mrs. Kowalski." Fraser suggested helpfully. That seemed to placate the woman. The Mountie noted that Ray didn't in the least surprised to hear the news.

"Excuse me, it's time for medication." A slim, blonde nurse tapped at the door and stepped in timidly.

"We should leave, Damian." Mrs. Kowalski picked up her purse and laid her hand on her husband's black and green flannel covered arm.

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry anyway."

"Come on, Ray, we'll treat you to lunch." Mrs. Kowalski laid a loving hand on her son's cheek as she lead the way out of the room.

_**Cantuckee Dinner ….**_

"You didn't tell me it'd be half an hour 'til lunch." Ray griped as they rode in the back of the Ford Tempo rental car. The small car drove leisurely southeast down Winchester Road toward the smaller, suburb of the same name.

"This place is worth it, Ray." Damian said over his shoulder as he drove the two lane road through some of the most beautiful horse farm country in the state. The land was rolling and green for as far as the eye could see in either direction. Ancient black oak trees stood like old men in the middle of grazing horses and herds of cattle. Houses older than the Civil War battles that took place within a days' walk were shaded with tulip poplar, Douglas fur and maple trees. Stone walls built by African American slaves bordered the properties, making neat squares in the landscape.

Beside the Ale-8 bottling company sat a nondescript building with a large sign on the roof visible from the Bluegrass Parkway. Cars and company trucks sat outside the restaurant, filling nearly every space.

"They serve the best buffet here, there's not a lot on it but it's good." Damian rubbed his beefy hands together after he threw off his safety belt.

"When did you eat here, Dad?" Ray asked, confused, knowing he hadn't kept in touch with his parents like she should have.

"Remember our road trip to Atlantic City a few years ago?" The elder Kowalski clipped the vehicle keys to his belt as he waited for the rest to catch up.

"Yeah, that's when, when you and Ma er, took your what, third honeymoon?" Ray tried to think. He'd still been married to Stella at the time.

"Our second honeymoon actually, dear." Mrs. Kowalski smiled, still remembering the sound of gaming machines playing their distinctive, three note siren's song.

"Yeah, right, I remember." Ray rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand the thoughts of old people getting romantically mushy, especially his parents. It gave him the willies.

"Come on people, before the meatloaf's gone." Damian hurried them along.

"Hello, Welcome to the Cantuckee Dinner." An older woman with white blonde hair and a heavy, gold necklace greeted them at the door.

"A table for four please." Mrs. Kowalski smiled at the woman. The scent of green beans, meatloaf and steamed vegetables filled the guests' lungs straight down to their stomachs.

"Right this way." She led them to a quiet table in the corner of the restaurant handy to the buffet. Right behind the hostess was a waitress.

"Hello, I'm Kathy, what can I get you to drink today?" She quickly jotted down their drink orders and told them to help themselves to the buffet.

Once their plates were full the four took their seats around the table. Damian Kowalski looked tired. Mrs. Kowalski too seemed preoccupied.

"What's the sleeping situation, Dad?" Ray asked, wondering if he and Fraser needed to find a hotel room or if they were going to be able to sleep in the Kowalski RV.

"The camper sleep four, more or less." The older Kowalski shrugged as he took a fork full of creamy mashed potatoes to his mouth. He closed his eyes and savored the taste of real potatoes, not flakes like other restaurants used.

"Whatdya mean, more or less?" Ray asked, forking his meatloaf.

"It might be a snug fit with four adults, Ray." Mrs. Kowalski said, slowly wrapping a strand of spaghetti around her fork.

"Greatness, good thing we didn't bring Diefenbaker." The detective imagined having to sleep on the RV floor.

"How is the wolf, Constable Fraser?" Damian asked, he'd taken a liking to the fur ball. The doctors had banned doughnuts form his diet just like Fraser had done the wolf.

"Quite well, thank you kindly, currently I'm trying to institute a fitness and diet program as well as a program to sharpen his hunting skills, so far it's been less than successful, but I'm hopeful." Fraser gestured with his knife as he cut his meatloaf into miniscule pieces.

"What's the deal with Rachel, Mom, is there some kind of meds, er, therapy mumbo jumbo that'll snap her out of that, that comotose, cat tonics, whatever?" Ray asked, watching his mom carefully.

"Catatonia, Ray." Fraser offered, sipping his ice water.

"I don't know, I didn't even know that Rachel suffered from schizophrenia, I guess there's a lot we don't know, she always seemed so level headed." Mrs. Kowalski laid her flatware down and stared at the back wall of the restaurant. A worn, leather, mule harness hung on the wall as well as a charcoal sketch of a long faced, gray, plow mule.

"Apparently not too level headed, made me Ramona's legal guardian." Ray shook his head before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Why do you say that, Ray, you were always good with children." Mrs. Kowalski leaned forward to see her son's startlingly blue eyes.

"Ah, I'm a cop, Ma, I work nights, chase criminals, how's that good for a kid?" Ray pointed out.

"Other officers have families and still fulfill the job requirements of law enforcement." Fraser countered.

"Yeah, but they also have wives, Fraser." Damian pointed out. The Mountie saw a flare of anger light in Ray's eyes at his father's remark. Benton got the feeling he'd stumbled into an old argument between father and son.

"The breakdown of the nuclear family has indeed left many children solely dependent on one parent. Many working fathers care for their children without the benefit of a spouse." The Mountie thought back to his own childhood, then realized that his father hadn't been the best example to hearken to. Robert Fraser had left Ben's care to his own parents. The Kowalskis looked at Fraser as if he'd sprouted a wolf's head.

"Ray, honey, your father and I will be in Chicago to help with Ramona." Mrs. Kowalski offered, patting her son's hand.

"As will I, Mrs. Kowalski." Fraser offered, meeting her gaze.

"This will be good for you, you need something besides an empty apartment to come home to at night." The light haired woman smiled, thinking about watching baby Ramona grow up as she'd done with Rachel and Ray.

The detective didn't look convinced. He'd always imagined having Stella and their children to come home to by this time in his life. That had been blown to hell.

"I just don't want baby Ramona to get the short end of the stick is all." Ray leaned back, his appetite gone.

"At least give it a try, Ray, you might surprise yourself." His mother's bright blue eyes shone like gem stones as she gave him a determined stare. Damian growled almost imperceptibly in his throat.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**The RV ….**_

"Jeez, Ma, it's spring time, I don't need flannel undies." Ray groused when his mother handed him a pair of his father's long johns. The RV was parked in a park and ride near the highway. It had been dark for all of thirty minutes when Mrs. Kowalski began getting everyone ready for bed. She dug out the spare blankets and pillows and began fussing around the tiny space.

"I don't mind sleeping on the floor, Ray, it's really no trouble." Benton offered again for the third time. He felt embarrassed to be fussed over the way Mrs. Kowalski insisted.

"You'll do no such thing young man, you're company and company gets the bed." The smaller woman wagged a slim, arthritis knotted finger under Benton's nose as she spoke.

"She's stubborn, Constable Fraser, after thirty-five years of marriage I've found it best to let her have her way." Damian chuckled, waving a beefy hand in the air from the kitchen table. His wife shook her head and smiled triumphantly.

The Kowalskis went into the back of the RV and settled into their beds. Damian was snoring soundly within fifteen minutes.

"Psst, Frase." Ray's voice came softly as he lay on the spare cot.

"Yes, Ray?" The Mountie sat up on the rickety bed.

"I can't sleep." The detective whispered as he sat up and neared his friend.

"You shouldn't have eaten that Hell Hound's Barbecue Sauce covered chicken for dinner." Ben said as he turned up on his side to see his friend in the dim shaft of light shining through the curtains from a security light outside.

"Nah, it's not my stomach, it's, er, it's baby Ramona, what am I gonna do?" Ray asked, concern in his voice.

"It is entirely up to you, Ray, you know I'll help as much as possible." Ben ran his hand over his eyes, clearing the day's grit from them.

"Thanks, buddy, but I don't know nothin' about diapers or teething, what if she gets, get sick?" Ray had been turning it all over in his mind since he'd gotten the phone call the day before. He just didn't see how Rachel could have made him the baby's legal guardian.

"New parents are often overwhelmed when they first take their children home from the hospital. I'm certain that your mother will assist you from her years of experience." Benton pointed out, thinking back to the men he'd served with who had young families. They'd often reported for duty with only a few hours sleep gleaned in the early hours of the morning.

"Do you think, Fraser, do you think I can do this, I mean until Rachel gets better anyway?" The detective asked, his voice quiet and unsure.

"Yes, Ray, I do." The Mountie answered confidently.

"You ain't just sayin' that are ya, buddy?" Ray sat up to look his friend in the eye.

"Ray!" Fraser growled softly at him.

"Okay, okay, I can do this, at least until Rachel gets better." Ray laid back down for the night.

__"Ray, may I ask a personal question?" Fraser raised up again, this time swinging his feet over the side of the bed.

"Lay it on me, Frase." Ray wiped his face with his hand, drawing his stubbled skin downward.

"When I gave your mother the definition of catatonia you weren't at all surprised to hear that Rachel had schizophrenia."

"Rachel and me, we got out of high school, she went to college, I went to the Academy, next thing I heard from her she uh, she called me up from a mental hospital outside Chicago." Ray answered.

"You didn't inform your parents?" Fraser knew first hand some of what Rachel must have felt. For the last two years he'd been talking to his father's ghost. There had been a few times he'd suspected he had schizophrenia. Auditory delusions were one of the symptoms after all.

"Nah, Rachel asked me not to, we were close like that, she was my little sister sort of." Ray thought back to the sound of his cousin's crying on the phone, asking, begging, him to help her.

"Had she shown symptoms of the illness during adolescence?" Fraser tried to remember what he'd read of the illness from his grandmother's library.

"Does that mean somethin' like growin' up, Fraser?" Ray asked, his voice low so as not to wake his parents.

"Yes, Ray, did Rachel show signs while you were teenagers?" The Mountie rephrased his statement.

"Ah, I don't know, Fraser, I, ah, I just thought she was creative." The detective's shrug was evident in his tone.

"Are you having trouble sleeping, Ray, I'll make you some warm milk." Mrs. Kowalski's voice cut through the darkness.

"No, Ma, I'm fine, go back to bed, okay." Ray closed his eyes tightly and groaned mentally.

"Are you sure, Ray, I don't mind a bit." She persisted.

"I'm fine, Ma, promise." The detective just hoped his mother didn't pull out the photo albums and begin telling embarrassing stories about him. He didn't want to cringe through another recitation of the time he got a fish hook caught through his nose with a wriggling night crawler still attached.

"Sleep tight, Sweetie." Mrs. Kowalski wished them. Fraser heard the older woman lie back down.

"Night, Ma." Ray let out a gusty breath as he settled back into the sleeping bag Benton had originally brought for himself.

"Ray," Fraser said quietly in the dark but got no response.

"Ray," He repeated a bit louder but got no answer so he leaned up on one arm.

"Ray!" Benton said firmly.

"What!" The detective snapped.

"Good night, Ray."

"Night, Fraser." Ray mumbled.

_**Meet Baby Ramona …..**_

Jill arrived at the VA Hospital, her little boy's fist wrapped in the tail of her long, denim skirt as she carried baby Ramona in her arms. There was a green and brown diaper bag on one shoulder and a pink on on the other.

"Good morning, Jill, how are you?" Mrs. Kowalski asked, taking the baby from the heavily burdened younger woman.

"I'd almost forgotten what it's like to get up every two hours through the night." Jill mindlessly picked her toddler up. The little boy had been pounding his tiny fists into her thighs for attention.

"Here, allow me to take those for you." Fraser stepped forward and took the diaper bag off her free arm.

"Yes, thank you." Jill looked up at the handsome stranger, her light red hair a wispy mess and her blouse askew around her middle.

"You're welcome, Ma'am." The Mountie nodded, looking from mother to son. The toddler suddenly felt shy and dug his face into his mother's shoulder.

"Jill, this is our son, Raymond." Mrs. Kowalski nodded toward the lanky blond guy staring out the window. He turned around, a nervous smile spreading across his face.

"I've heard Rachel speak of you." Jill hoisted her son up on her hip for a better position.

"This here's my partner, Fraser." Ray clapped a heavy hand on the Mountie's shoulder. He saw the young woman's dark green eyes widen below raised eyebrows.

"We're law enforcement officers." Benton clarified, taking a step forward, away from Ray.

"Oh, I see." Jill nodded, feeling embarrassed she'd assumed the wrong thing about the two men.

"Have you heard from Tommy's parents?" Damian asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, they were at the funeral home yesterday afternoon. His father's in a wheel chair and his mother is almost blind from glaucoma, but they're still such sweet people." Jill took a seat in the only vacant seat, settling her little boy on her thighs.

"Oh look, her eyes are open." Mrs. Kowalski turned to show Ray the baby's open eyes. They peered up at him so wide and innocent. He felt his mouth go dry. How could he take care of something so fragile. Ray could imagine Fraser taking care of a baby but not him. Ramona reached out one tiny hand at him and seemed to wave.

"Here, take her, Ray." His mother held out the small, pink bundle.

"Nah, she's fine where she's at, thanks, Ma." Ray shook his head, backing away.

"Ray, she's not made of glass." Fraser urged him.

"She's too little." Ray squirmed, feeling the peer pressure.

"That's what my husband said the first time he held our Kevin here." Jill laid her cheek against her son's head and smiled.

"Hold her head and support her neck, you'll be fine, Raymond." Mrs. Kowalski insisted. Almost shaking, the usually eager cop took the small, precious child his mother held.

"Now, was that so bad, Ray?" Fraser asked, watching him closely. Ray glared at him a second.

"Hey, Ramona, it's Uncle Ray." The detective whispered as he held her against this chest. With eyes wide open, the baby squirmed but didn't make a sound.

"And I thought all they did was cry." Ray chuckled.

"You'll be a natural in no time." Mrs. Kowalski patted her son's cheek with an affectionate smile. Ray didn't seem convinced, but he did feel better about taking care of Ramona.

"I don't know about that." Ray looked down into the face of the miniature angel he held. She seemed so wise and yet so innocent at the same time. Ray felt a sense of calm come over him that he'd never felt except with his mother, Stella and occasionally Fraser.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Lexington, KY ….**_

Ray and Fraser stayed in Lexington with the Kowalskis for two more days, sorting out the legalities and making arrangements for Rachel to come to Chicago. Jill left baby Ramona with Ray the first day. She hated to give the precious girl up but at the same time it would be good to be able to give her full attention to her own little boy.

Barbara took her time showing Ray how to properly feed and diaper the newborn. Even Fraser laughed the first time Ray had to change a stinky, soiled diaper. He gagged, his face turned red and his eyes watered as he took the full diaper between his thumb and forefinger to the trash can.

"Shew, why didn't you warn me I'd need a gas mask, buddy?" Ray asked after he'd finished putting the tiny diaper on Ramona.

"Diefenbaker." Came the answer.

"Oh yeah, I remember what he smelled like after he ate that summer sausage and boiled egg combo during the uh, the, the precinct's Fourth of July party." The wolf had cleared the entire bull pen with one windy gas expulsion.

"Come on, Ray, you're not finished, Ramona has to be burped." Barbara reminded her son after he'd recovered.

"Come here Ramona, how bad could burping be?" Fraser exchanged a knowing glance with Mrs. Kowalski. It wasn't fifteen minutes before Ray had white, creamy, stinky spit-up trailing down the sleeve of his button down shirt.

"Oh, man, that's awful." Ray held the baby up for either his mother or Fraser to take Ramona.

"Being a parent is tough work, Ray." Damian Kowalski growled as he read the Lexington Herald-Leader at the kitchen table.

"I know, Dad, I'm working on it." Ray growled back at him as he dug out a different shirt from his baggage.

Fraser watched the two exchange dark glares. He wondered at the animosity between them. They'd had a strained relationship but Ben thought they were trying to reconcile.

"Here, Ray, watch." Barbara Kowalski began gently tapping Ramona's back with her hand. The baby let out a barely audible burp then smiled.

__"Thanks, Ma." Ray took over, this time without getting spit up on.

"When's your flight leave tomorrow?" Damian asked as he refolded the newspaper.

"Ten o'clock, right, Fraser?" Ray answered, making faces at the baby.

"Yes, ten o'clock, speaking of which, I should call the consulate and let them know my approximate arrival time." Fraser stood up to leave the RV.

"Use my, uh, my cell phone." Ray nodded toward his jacket laying beside his father at the kitchen table.

"Thank you kindly, Ray." Fraser pulled the phone out of Ray's jacket pocket and went outside to make the call where the reception was better.

"Good day, Constable Turnbull." Fraser said after listening to the standard answer and noting Turnbull's horrendous French accent. "Yes, the trip has gone well, thank you kindly, I called to say that I'll be returning sometime tomorrow afternoon." The junior Mountie was ecstatic, asking what flight

Fraser would be on. After a few more minutes Fraser hung up the cellular device and started to mount the metal steps into the RV.

"This is what Rachel wants, Dad, if Tommy'd wanted something different they'd have made other plans." Ray's voice was raised and harsh.

"Yeah, and what are you gonna do when that baby's sick or somethin' and you're on the street at two in the mornin?" Damian's voice was raised as well and had a hard edge to it. Fraser had heard a similar tone in Ray's voice on occasion during interviews.

"I'm not gonna let work interfere with takin' care of Ramona, Dad." Ray responded.

"Like you did with Stella?" The older man's voice was positively icy.

"That is a low blow, Damian, and I don't appreciate you putting your nose in where it doesn't belong." Barbara's shrill insistence came just as baby Ramona began to cry.

"Great, Dad, now the baby's cryin'." Ray growled low. Benton couldn't help but hear the argument despite his best efforts to concentrate on something else. The RV was a glorified cracker box on wheels. The Mountie began walking away from the tan and white vehicle, his eyes detecting the trail of a groundhog.

The side door of the RV flew open, slamming against the side of it. Damian Kowalski stomped out, crossing the pavement quickly. From the way his jaw worked to the dark glint in his eyes, Fraser knew he was angry. A puff of wind blew the man's jacket back from his middle age paunch.

"Mr. Kowalski, hello." Ben greeted him as he walked toward him.

"This is your fault, Mountie." Damian pointed a short, stocky finger toward Ben's chest.

"Pardon?" Ben said, surprised. He tried to recall something he may have inadvertently done to upset the older man.

"My boy ain't got sense enough to know what's good for him, if he did, he would have held on to Stella. Now you've talked him into taking that baby. What's he gonna do when things get rough, hand it off to us to take care of." Damian stepped closer, his features full of anger.

"I assure you, Mr. Kowalski, Ray has given the matter a great deal of thought, he has baby Ramona and Rachel's best interest in mind. I've always found Ray to be very dedicated once he sets his mind to a task." Fraser defended his friend. Ray had agonized over taking on such an important role. He'd said that Rachel would have done the same for him if the shoe were on the other foot.

"I've known Ray a lot longer than you, Constable, he'll be calling Tommy's parents to come get the baby in no time." Damian growled then turned and walked to the rental car and left. Fraser stared off after him, wondering at the source of his anger.

"You okay, buddy?" Ray's voice caught Ben's attention.

"Yes, Ray, I'm fine, I am however concerned for your father." Ben turned to his friend.

"Ah, it's a long story, Fraser." Ray didn't elaborate as he watched the small car hit the highway just beyond.

"Come on in, Ma's a mess and the baby's cryin'." Ray nodded toward the RV but didn't elaborate about his father's anger.

_**Bluegrass Airport ….**_

Ray dragged his suitcase and wore Fraser's ruck sack on his back as they walked through Bluegrass Airport. The Mountie carried the baby and the pink diaper bag. Baby Ramona slept peacefully in the Canadian's arms.

"Oh, such a cute baby." A young twenty-something woman walked up to the two men, a coy smile on her fair, open features. There had been several other women eying the Mountie and his blond friend since they'd started out that morning. As usual, they'd taken the tall, handsome Mountie in from head to toe, but this time most of them had paused to look at the two week old baby sleeping soundly in Fraser's arms.

"Thank you kindly." Fraser paused, letting Ray catch up.

"You're wife must feel like the luckiest woman on earth." The young woman said as she waved at Ramona who'd opened her eyes when Fraser stopped.

"Oh, I'm not married." Benton began.

"Not from Frannie's lack of tryin', eh." Ray grinned and elbowed the Mountie.

"Yes, I do believe that is one of Francesca's life goals." Benton agreed, turning to look at his friend.

"Flight 1066 for New York now boarding." Came the friendly, female voice over the loud speaker.

"That's my flight, have a good day." The young woman gave Fraser her best come hither look before disappearing into the flow of bodies heading in every direction.

"Our flight has been delayed, Ray." Fraser frowned as he studied the arrival and departure board overhead.

"Greatness, how long do you think it'll be?" The detective set down his bag and tried to make sense of the names and numbers but without his glasses it all looked like Greek.

"Approximately two hours." Fraser answered, quickly doing mental calculations.

"Guess we should find a place to wait, eh?" Ray scanned the cavernous building for a comfortable spot. Both men walked over to a row of chairs near the arrival and departure board and took a seat. Ray was relieved to be able to unload. Fraser sat down careful not to disturb baby Ramona.

"Hey fellers." A familiar accented voice called from the restroom doors across the way.

"Great, your cab drivin' fan from the other day." Ray said through a smile as he watched the man coming toward them. Tagging along behind him was a young girl with waist length, brown hair and a nervous smile.

"Good morning." Fraser greeted the pair. The little girl looked at the Mountie in amazement, from his Stetson, down his red serge uniform to the high brown riding boots he wore.

"Carly, honey, these are the guys I was telling you about the other night." The cab driver nodded toward Fraser and Ray.

"Pleased to meet you, Carly." Fraser offered a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Mister." The little girl's dark blue eyes peered from Ben's green ones down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"How's your visit to Lexington been so?" The cab driver asked, meeting Ray's gaze.

"Been good, thanks for askin'." Ray answered, leaning forward to get his wallet out of his hip pocket.

"Are you really a Mountie, Mister?" Carly asked Fraser, her voice soft and shy. She wrung her fingers as she stood almost on her father's feet.

"Yes, I am, I'm Constable Benton Fraser with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, currently attached to the Canadian Consulate in Chicago, this is my friend, Detective Ray Vecchio." Ben answered simply, using Ray Kowalski's pseudonym.

"That's a lot to have to say." Carly giggled, wrinkling her freckled nose, her eyes nearly disappearing behind her high cheekbones. She stuck her and into the pocket of her jeans and fished around until she came up with the money her father had offered to buy from Fraser.

"I wanted to say thanks for letting Dad have this for me, it's really neat." Carly pulled the bill taunt, a delighted smile brightening her features.

"You're quite welcome, Carly, I'm glad you like it." Fraser nodded.

"I took this to school yesterday and showed it to my class, they all thought it was neat too." The girl gained confidence as she talked. Fraser glanced at her father, his face glowing as he watched his little girl interact.

"Here, take this to school, then you can tell them you met a real, live Chicago police detective." Ray handed Carly a sticker with the emblem on it just like his badge. Emblazoned on the gold paper was 'Chicago Police' in the middle it said, 'Junior Detective'.

"Thanks, Mister, I will." Carly took the sticker and put it in the hip pocket of her jeans with the Canadian money.

"Come on, honey, we'd better let these fellers get back to work, we better get back to the cab, it's been nice meetin' ya'll." The cab driver nodded his baseball cap at them and took Carly's hand.

"Is that your little girl, Constable Fraser?" Carly asked, looking down at tiny baby Ramona.

"No, we're taking care of her for Ray's cousin while she's ill." Fraser answered. "Would you like to hold her?" The Mountie saw a nervous expression in Carly's eyes turned to see one in Ray's as well.

"No, no thanks, I'm too clumsy." Carly backed away, her eyes wide and her hands raised as she shook her head. Ray knew how she felt. Ramona opened her eyes and looked around her, her tiny hands stretching and moving.

"You may take her hand if you'd like." Fraser offered again. Carly took a step forward, carefully putting her finger into baby Ramona's grasp.

"She's beautiful." The timid girl breathed as she touched the baby's palm. Ramona curled her long, delicate fingers around the girl's finger. "I hope her mom gets to feelin' better." Carly wrinkled her nose, making a silly face for the baby.

"Thanks." Ray nodded, a sad smile on his lean features.

"Are you ready to go, Carly?" Her father asked, laying a calloused hand on her shoulder. The little girl looked up at him and nodded.

"Have a good day, Constable Fraser, Detective Vecchio." Carly pulled out of baby Ramona's grasp and waved.

"Hope you have a good flight, guys." The cab driver wished them as he took his daughter's hand. Together they began walking toward the exit holding hands to stay together in the crowd.

"Jeez, Fraser, Ramona's not a doll, you can't turn her loose with kids like that." Ray complained, leaning close to look down at the wiggling infant.

"Ray, I do know the difference." Ben started making the puffin face as Ramona peered up at him curiously. Of all the weird things he'd done, Ray thought the Mountie's puffin face was the funniest.

_"At least he's not lickin' or sniffin' stuff or goin, 'hmm', like he usually does."_ Thought the detective to himself.

The unlikely pair sat and waited for their delayed flight, watching people walk by from all over the world. Everyone seemed friendlier and less hurried than in Chicago. Ray was glad to be out of the rat race, even if it was only a day or two.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Meet Baby Ramona ….**_

Life at the Twenty-seventh Precinct was crazy, as usual, while Ray and Fraser were gone to Kentucky. There was the usual arguments between Lt. Welsh and Frannie, spats between detectives Huey and Dewey.

The consulate however was almost hollow with the Mountie and the Detective out of town. Junior officer, Constable Turnbull, was responsible for Fraser's paperwork, leaving him little time for annoying Inspector Thatcher. When Fraser called and told him they'd arrived at O' Hare Airport, Turnbull was over joyed.

"Turnbull, calm down, Ray has his other car here at the airport." Fraser tried to get through to the excitable officer. Sometimes even Ben wondered how the junior officer had made it onto the Force.

"What's turned his crank so tight?" Ray asked as he held baby Ramona. They stood leaning against Ray's Dodge Intrepid, his work vehicle.

"It's simply Constable Turnbull being Turnbull." Fraser gestured with his Stetson as he opened the back door and loaded their baggage into the back seat.

"Oh dear, we don't have a car seat." Fraser frowned.

"The car has plenty of seats, Fraser, what's up?" The detective asked, confused.

"No, a child safety seat is required, Ray, for the baby's protection should an accident occur." Fraser explained quickly, trying to think of a solution.

"I'm not gonna get in an accident." Ray rolled his eyes, annoyed at his overly cautious friend.

"You aren't the only driver on the streets of Chicago either, Ray." Fraser pointed out firmly.

"Yeah, I guess." Ray conceded.

"Perhaps Francesca could borrow her niece's car seat she's outgrown." Fraser thought.

"I'll call the two-seven and, Frannie will, she'll come get us." Ray pulled out the cell phone and speed dialed the Civilian Aide's line.

"Francesca here, what can I do for you?" She answered sweetly, hoping it was Fraser on the other end.

"Hey, Frannie, can you come to the, to the, to the airport and pick us up, we need a baby seat." Ray tried to think of what it was called but figured she'd know what he meant.

"A car seat, Ray?" Frannie asked. He could hear an eye roll through the phone line.

"Yeah, I guess, whatever, just come get us, okay, Frannie." Ray said, rolling his own eyes.

"Sure, sure, don't get your tennis shoes in a knot, I'll be there in a few minutes." Frannie moved, making her swivel chair creak.

"Is Fraser nearby?" The flirty Civilian Aide asked, her tone changing to coy.

"Yeah, he's here, he's got his hands full with the baby, you can talk to him when you get here." Ray hung up the phone. He could only imagine the ragging out he'd get when Frannie got there. The quickest way to make her mad was to hang up on her.

Twenty minutes later Frannie pulled up in her blue Chevy Caprice. Just like Ray'd thought, she was mad. The dark look in her brown eyes was enough to make grown men run for cover.

"Ray, it's not nice to hang up on people, especially when said people are doing you a favor." Frannie rolled down the window and began laying it off to the blond detective.

"Frannie, meet my second cousin, Ramona." Ray motioned for Fraser to join him at the driver's side window.

"Hello Fraser, it's good to see you again." Frannie's tone flipped to sweet and welcoming.

"Good to see you as well, Francesca." Fraser greeted her with his usual politeness.

"Pitter patter, let's get 'atter." Ray clapped his hands as he opened Frannie's back door to put Ramona in the car seat.

"Allow me, Ray." Fraser said as he brought the baby over to the other side. Frannie watched them with a mischievous smile as they tried to figure out how to buckle the new born into the car seat and buckle the car seat into the back seat. It was better than watching Jerry Springfield. Finally, Frannie felt sorry for the baby and shooed them away. Quickly, she buckled the baby into the heavy, plastic car seat and shut the door.

"So, Fraser, do you want to ride with us girls?" Frannie asked leaning up against the car, her manicured fingers toying with is navy pea coat's buttons.

"Ah, hmm, Ray should probably ride with Ramona while I drive the GTO." Fraser sent a quick prayer skyward that his partner let him drive the black classic car.

"Are you sure you don't want to ride with Frannie, buddy, give you two a few minutes to catch up." Ray said with a straight face but a devilish gleam shone in his light blue eyes.

"Yeah, Fraser, it would give us a few minutes to catch up." Frannie chimed in, clueless to Ray's joke. When Ray snickered she turned to him, confused.

"I'll see you all at my apartment, okay?" Ray pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket and jangled them.

"Come on, Fraser." Frannie smiled.

"Yes, coming, I'll uh, I shuld sit back here with the baby." Fraser didn't want Francesca mistaking his thigh for the gear shift-again.

_**Ray's Apartment ….**_

"You know, Ray, you should really consider baby proofing this place, she'll be crawling before you know it." Francesca said as the three of them walked into Ray's small apartment.

"I hadn't really thought that far ahead." The blond detective scratched his temple, trying to think of all the other things he'd have to change to take care of baby Ramona the right way.

"Mrs. Kowalski should be able to bring the majority of the baby's things with them after they've dealt with Rachel and Tommy's effects." Fraser added, seeing the wheels in his friend's face.

"Yeah, I hope so." Ray frowned.

"When are Barbara and Damian getting back from Kentucky anyway?" Frannie asked, taking the baby from Fraser and bouncing her as Ramona looked at the apartment.

"Next week sometime, whenever they transpose, no, transfer Rachel." Ray tapped his forehead, trying to jog free the right word.

"How's she doing?" Frannie asked sincerely.

"I don't know, she's still lyin' there like a knot on a log." The detective sighed.

"Hello, Ray." He turned at the sound of a pleasantly familiar voice. Fraser saw his eyes light up and his whole demeanor change.

"Oh, hey, Stella, what are you doin' here?" Ray ushered the Assistant States Attorney into the apartment, offering her something to drink.

"You asked me to come, Ray." Stella gave him an annoyed glare before turning to Fraser, who she gave an icy stare then moving on to Francesca, who she waved at politely.

"Oh yeah, I did, I wanted you to, to uh, meet Rachel's little girl, Ramona." Ray pointed to the baby lying contentedly in Francesca's arms.

"This is Rachel's daughter?" Stella sat down on the sofa next to Frannie and ran a cautious finger over the baby's cheek. "She's beautiful." The blonde attorney's eyes sparkled as she took in the precious bundle. A pair of clear, blue eyes peered up at her and a perfect bow mouth puckered and moved.

"Yeah, she's cute, just like Rachel." Ray smiled wistfully, wishing his cousin was well enough to take care of her baby girl.

"How is Rachel?" Stella turned, concern in her tone.

"I don't know, still lyin there." Ray frowned, one hand on his hip and the other rubbing his forehead.

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Stella asked, looking from Ray to Fraser. The Mountie looked to his friend for permission to tell the truth or keep it to himself. Ray gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

"She's in a catatonic state." Fraser answered.

"Like schizophrenia?" Stella tried to grasp the significance of the diagnosis.

"Yeah." Ray nodded, thinking back to the day when Rachel had called from a mental hospital outside the city.

"What are they doing to treat her?" Stella pressed, her mind spinning. Ray hadn't told her about Rachel's stay in the psych ward. She'd asked him not to.

"Doctors are using a pharmacological approach at this stage." Fraser responded.

"Meds?" Stella asked, decoding Fraser-speak. The Mountie nodded.

"I guess it's a blessing her parents are passed away." Stella turned away, her blue eyes cloudy. Ramona crying broke the heavy silence in the room.

"Which cry is that, hungry or dirty?" Ray walked over to the sofa where Frannie held the baby and peered down at the infant. Frannie took a whiff and wrinkled her nose.

"She's all yours, I have to get back before Welsh has a stroke." Frannie handed the baby up to Ray.

"I should get back to the consulate as well, Turnbull is likely beside himself as we speak." Fraser gathered his Stetson and his rucksack.

"Whoa, hold on, you all are just leavin' me here?" Ray asked, Ramona crying in his arms.

"Sorry, Ray, I'll be back a little later." Fraser shrugged. He could help his friend but he wasn't about to do it for him.

"I'll give you a ride, Fraser." Frannie offered, biting on her bottom lip as she looked up at him flirtatiously.

"Thank you kindly, Francesca, but I've been seated entirely too much today, I think I'll walk." The Mountie shook his head, a panicked expression on his face.

Stella looked at Ray, trying to hide a laugh bubbling up in her throat. Their eyes met for a moment. Ray cocked one brow, a naughty smirk on his lean features. Stella lost it, letting herself laugh. Ray loved the sound of her laughter. It had been too long since he'd heard it. The last few years of their marriage the only laughter he'd heard out of his ex-wife was scornful.

"Good-bye, Ray." Fraser opened the door for Frannie.

"Yeah, see ya later." The Civilian Aide sashayed through, her heels clacking on the hardwood floor in the hallway.

"Okay, later guys." Ray called as Fraser closed the door. He turned back to Stella.

"I, uh, I should really change her." Ray nodded toward his bedroom. "Could you bring the," He hitched an elbow toward the diaper bag on the kitchen table. "the, uh, bag with her stuff in it."

"Sure, Ray." Stella retrieved the bag and followed him into the bedroom. Together they changed Ramona.

"There you go, squeaky clean." Ray grinned down at the baby as she wiggled and squirmed, now dry and content again. When he looked up he saw Stella watching him, her hands on her hips and her blue eyes gentle, more gentle than he'd seen them in ages. Ray started to say something but the telephone rang in the other room.

"I'll get that." Stella offered, turning and walking into the living room. Ray silently cursed as he watched her leave.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**The Twenty-seventh Precinct ….**_

Welsh waited behind his desk for Ray to show up. The Lieutenant sipped his third cup of coffee for the day from a red. ceramic mug he'd gotten for Christmas as part of a 'Secret Santa' deal two years before. He set the mug down on the desk when he heard a tap at the door.

"Come in." The older officer barked.

Ray walked in, a pink diaper bag on one shoulder and the baby in his arms, looking bewildered.

"Detective, I thought you were due in over two hours ago." Welsh heaved himself up from the leather swivel chair and came to lean on the desk, his arms crossed over his barrel chest.

"I was, Sir, I just had to stop by the apartment and take care of somethin'." Ray lifted Ramona a fraction.

"This station is no place for an infant, Detective." Welsh looked down at the wiggling bundle in the lean detective's arms. She turned her face in the direction of the lieutenant's deep voice.

"I know, Lieutenant Welsh, but I don't have anyone to babysit." Ray moved nervously, taking a seat in front of his superior officer.

"And that is my problem how exactly?" Welsh asked, still looking at Ramona as she turned this way and that, seeming to examine her surroundings.

"It ain't, Lieutenant, I just, uh, just got this sprung on me." Ray began to squirm under Welsh's scrutiny.

"Go home, Detective, and when you arrive in the morning, leave the baby behind." Welsh pointed to the pink bundle in Ray's arms.

"Yes, Sir." Ray nodded, trying to stand up but having trouble.

"Here, allow me." Welsh stood up and took the tiny infant in his beefy hands, careful to support her neck and head. "She's a fine looking girl." The older officer said as he looked down into Ramona's open, honest, curious face.

"Her name is Ramona, my cousin Rachel's daughter." Ray said, a broad grin on his face.

"How is your cousin?" Welsh asked, still holding the baby.

"She's just layin' there, starin' into space." Ray shrugged. He didn't know how to explain what was wrong with his cousin, medical mumbo jumbo was Fraser's department.

"I'd better get goin'." The detective spread his hands out to take Ramona back. A bit wistfully, Welsh carefully handed the precious bundle back to Ray.

"Take care, Detective." Welsh said more to Ramona than to the blond detective.

"She'll be safe as houses." Ray nodded confidently. With Ramona and her baggage in tow, Ray walked out of Welsh's office and into the bullpen. A few of the detectives looked up at the sight.

"Nice accessories, Ray." Huey snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't trust you with my turtle, Huey." Ray made a disgusted face as he walked on by.

"Yo! Ray, Fraser's looking for you." Frannie called out when she heard her replacement brother's voice.

"Is he at the consulate?" Ray stopped by the Civilian Aide's desk.

"Yep, sure is." The dark headed beauty answered without looking up. When Ramona whimpered Frannie stood up.

"Did Fraser say what he wanted?" Ray looked down at Ramona, trying to think of what a whimper meant.

"Fraser said he'd meet you for dinner at your house and that he had something to give you." Frannie took Ramona from Ray and checked her diaper then the time of day.

"It's feeding time, Ray." Frannie said as she swayed with the baby girl.

"I got a bottle in here somewhere." Ray began digging through the pink and yellow diaper bag on his shoulder. "Sheesh, how do women find anything in these suckers?" He groused as he dug through diapers, wipes, and spare clothes.

"Better get used to it, Ray." Frannie gave him a satisfied smile as he came up with the milk.

"Hardy har har."

Frannie laughed at his sarcasm.

"Will you help me get this heated in the lounge?" Ray asked, feeling the cold liquid through the bottle.

"Yeah, sure." Frannie followed Ray through the station to the staff lounge.

_**Dinner at Ray's ….**_

Fraser carried a large, paper shopping bag as he and Diefenbaker navigated the busy, Chicago streets toward Ray's apartment. Every few seconds he tipped his hat or opened doors for people going in or out of various businesses. Diefenbaker trotted on ahead, sniffing trees and car tires while he waited for his human friend to catch up. After what seemed like forever to the wolf, they arrived at Ray's working/middle class neighborhood. Fraser and Dief walked the three floors up the stairs to Ray's door. After knocking on the door, Dief looked up at his human as if to say, _"There is an elevator you know." _

"A few flights of stairs aren't going to hurt you, we've climbed boulders higher than this." Fraser dismissed. Dief whined at him and sat on his haunches until Ray opened the door.

"Hey, buddy, Frannie told me you were looking for me." Ray walked back through the apartment to the couch. There was a pizza box on the arm chair and the television was playing a History Channel program about classic, American muscle cars.

"I brought a gift for you, Ray." Fraser sat the shopping bag on the couch before Ray could sit down. Fraser rounded the couch and took one look at the coffee table. Nestled in a thickly padded dresser drawer lay Ramona, sleeping soundly. Ray pulled out a heavy box and began examining the picture.

"A video camera, Fraser?" Ray asked, confused. He didn't get it, it wasn't his birthday, and Christmas wasn't for months to come.

"I thought you would like to keep a video journal of baby Ramona's first few months so that Rachel may watch them when she's recovered." Fraser smiled, watching the baby sleep.

"Hey, that's genius, Fraser, thanks." Ray moved the pizza box and sat down to open the box.

"I had forgotten that you don't have a proper crib for Ramona." Fraser indicated the deep drawer the baby was resting in comfortably.

"Yeah, I don't have nothin' she needs really, not until Mom and Dad get here in a few days with the, uh, the stuff from Rachel and Tommy's house." Ray tossed the cardboard box the video camera came in on the floor and began pulling the plastic bag off of it.

"There should be blank tapes in the shopping bag, the clerk assisted me in finding an inexpensive but dependable model." Fraser began tidying up as his friend tore into the packaging.

"Rachel will love this, Fraser." Ray's bright eyes dimmed as he thought of his cousin lying silent in her own world.

"It's important for a mother and child to bond during the first few months, it promotes brain and language development and emotional stability." The Mountie said as he saved the booklet from the trash can beside the arm chair.

"I'll do the best I can, but I still think Rachel got the wrong guy for the job." Ray pulled the lens cap off the video camera and looked through the view finder.

"Rachel wouldn't have made you Ramona's guardian if she didn't think you'd do your utmost to provide and protect her." Fraser said firmly, wishing his friend had more confidence in himself.

"Yeah, maybe." Ray shrugged, still not entirely convinced.

For the rest of the evening Ray played with the camera while Fraser used the odds and ends in the kitchen cabinets to fix a decent meal. Finding something with nutritious value in Ray's apartment was almost like trying to find a needle in a haystack in the middle of Kansas.

After supper Fraser set down to watch a Discovery Channel re-run with Ray. The Mountie was still puzzled as to the strain in the relationship between Ray and his father. Benton had been working on how to bring up the subject all day. The only clear way to do it was to ask bluntly.

"Ray, I couldn't help but overhear your argument with your father in the RV." Fraser saw the detective stiffen.

"Ah, it's nothin', Fraser." Ray waved it off as he turned back to the television rattling on about how lionesses do the majority of the hunting for the pride.

"From the animosity between the two of you I would disagree." Fraser pushed, watching Ray's jaw muscle work.

"It's just old family stuff, Fraser, it's nothin'." Ray turned the television off and got up off the couch to pace around the living room.

"If you don't wish to tell me about it I understand, Ray." The Mountie stood up as well, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jodhpurs. His red serge tunic lay over a kitchen chair nearby along with his Stetson. Diefenbaker lay on the floor beneath the table, snoring loudly.

Ray paced the kitchen for a minute, opening and closing the refrigerator quickly. Then he turned to Fraser, pain in his light blue eyes. Ray then walked around the living room, full of nervous energy. Benton stood perfectly still, waiting and listening.

"Stella's mom, she was kinda nuts growin' up. She had a, had a what do you call it, where she lost the baby, when Stella was like six or seven." Ray picked up his electric bill and tapped it on the kitchen counter.

"That must have affected Stella greatly." Fraser said as he watched his friend pace.

"Yeah, sure did. When Stell and I were married about a year she got pregnant. I was thrilled, Mom was stoked, Dad was jazzed about being a grandpa. I was workin full time, Stella was going to school full time and workin' on the side, she miscarried a couple months in. I was pullin a double at the body shop when it happened, Mom found Stella a few hours after. Dad went gonzo when I told him, he blamed me for not bein' there when Stella needed me. We had a huge fight. Stella refused to try again, I guess she didn't want to end up like her mother er somethin'." Ray ran his hands down his lean features as if trying to wipe away the pain Fraser saw his friend's eyes.

"Mr. Kowalski still harbors misgivings?" Fraser asked, running his thumb over his eyebrow.

"Somethin' like that, yeah, Dad still blames me for not being there, for being at work." Ray slammed his fist down against the kitchen counter. Dief raised up to see what was going on.

"You blame yourself as well." Fraser stated plainly, meeting Ray's gaze.

"Yeah, big time." Ray nodded, both hands on the counter as he leaned forward.

"It wasn't your fault that Stella miscarried, surely your father sees that." Fraser leaned forward on the counter as well.

"You'd think, but Dad, he, he just can't get past it and he sure as hell isn't letting me either." The detective hung his head, his jaw working in agitation.

"Have you talked to him about it, Ray?" Benton asked. This wasn't exactly his area of expertise.

"Kinda, I mean we talked," He turned to Fraser, "Not really." Ray admitted. Fraser nodded in understanding. Talking about feelings and working through issues with his own father had never gone very well.

"I suggest you and your father have a discussion, Ray." Fraser crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, maybe someday, Fraser." Ray shrugged then pushed himself away from the counter to pace the kitchen again.

"I know it may be difficult but it will go a long way towards mending your fragile relationship. You'll both feel better for it in the long run, Ray." Fraser tried to give his friend the kind of advice he wished someone had given him before his father's death.

"Thanks, buddy, I'll think about it, okay." Ray grinned as he looked down at Ramona, sleeping peacefully in the dresser drawer on the coffee table.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chicago, Two Weeks Later …. **_

The Kowalskis arrived in the Windy City around lunch almost two weeks after they'd left to go to Kentucky. They'd made all the arrangements for Rachel's transfer to a nearby Veteran's hospital then met with Tommy's parents at their house. There had been a lot to do to pack up the couple's effects. Tommy's parents had taken very little, saying that they wanted Rachel and Ramona to have their son's things to remember him by.

Damon Kowalski drove his niece's things in a U-Haul while his wife Barbara drove their RV. Ray was waiting for his parents at their small, two bedroom house in a suburb of the city. Barbara stepped out of the old, brown RV and almost flew to her son.

"Hey, Ma, did you have a good trip?" Ray asked through a rib cracking hug.

"Yes, I only lost sight of your father twice." Barbara smiled broadly, a stray breeze blowing her shoulder length, blonde hair across her face.

"Had lunch yet?" Ray opened the front screen door for his mother then waited for his father to catch up.

"No, we were waiting until we got home."

"Son, how are things?" Damian's deep voice was quiet as he regarded his son with troubled eyes.

"Doin' fine, Dad, you?" Ray asked, his back stiffening as he shook hands with his father.

"Been on the road all day." The older man shrugged.

"What do I smell, chilli?" Barbara's voice rang out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Ma, Fraser and me made it." Ray answered, following his dad inside.

"Good day, Mrs. Kowalski." The Mountie greeted his friend's mother with a warm smile and a nod to Mr. Kowalski. Damian raised a skeptical eyebrow at the pot of simmering chilli on the stove in his kitchen.

"There ain't nothin weird in it, Dad, promise, I made sure it's stuff like, beans, er, beef and stuff." The detective scratched his head as he took in a long whiff of the chilli he'd been dying to try for almost an hour.

"It smells good." Damian allowed not quite grimly.

"I made grilled cheese for everyone." Ray volunteered, pointing toward the kitchen table.

"Where's Ramona?" Mrs. Kowalski looked around for her great niece.

"She's in the spare bedroom, Mom." Ray pointed down the hall from the living room. He followed his mother toward the sleeping baby.

"A drawer, really Ray, where were you raised, a barn?" Barbara picked the baby up.

"I don't have a uh, a crib for her, I've been waitin on you and Dad to bring her stuff." Ray answered. The one month old woke up briefly to see who was holding her then nestled against Barbara's warm chest and fell back to sleep.

"We did bring her things, they're in the U-Haul outside. Your father has been as grouchy as an old bear while we've been away." Barbara swayed on her feet, looking down at the precious bundle in her arms. Baby Ramona had grown so much and in only two weeks.

"Good, cause my apartment ain't equipped for a baby right now." Ray couldn't help but stare at the sleeping child in his mother's arms.

"Has Stella seen the baby yet?" Barbara asked, her tone quiet as she looked at her son hopefully.

"Yeah, uh, she came over when we first got back, she, she didn't stick around though." Ray tried to cover how sad that made him feel.

"She'll come around." Barbara almost whispered as she leaned her head against her son's shoulder.

"Come on, Hon, let's eat, I'm starvin'." Damian hollered from the living room.

"Go on, Mom, I'll bring Ramona in." Ray took the baby carefully and let his mother get her lunch. Fraser had four bowls of chilli and grilled cheese sandwiches waiting for everyone on the small kitchen table of the single level house. The Mountie manned the video camera as Ray walked into the kitchen carrying Ramona. The baby turned to look at the camera, her mouth a perfect bow, her blue eyes bright and curious.

"Come on, Frase, put that thing down." Ray groused.

Damian looked pissed and Barbara peered at her son curiously.

"Rachel will want to see her daughter with the entire Kowalski family, Ray." The Canadian persisted. Ray snorted but didn't protest. The Mountie just had to pull the sympathy card didn't he.

Fraser smiled confidently then began filming the family as they settled down for lunch. It felt awkward.

"Yes, thank you." Ray nearly turned his chair over when the phone rang.

"Kowalski house." He picked up the receiver. A look of concern crossed his features as he listened intently to the speaker. "Yeah, thanks." The detective hung up.

"That was Welsh, we got a case." Ray's good mood immediately disappeared.

"This is what I've been talkin' about, Ray, what are you gonna do with Ramona while you're out solving crimes or whatever?" Damian stood up from the table, his flatware clattering to against his plate.

"I'll take care of it, Dad." Ray growled, walking over to the car seat where Ramona sat playing with her own fingers. He threw her stuff into the pink diaper bag and picked the heavy, plastic car seat up and headed toward his Intrepid. Fraser turned the video camera off and gathered his things as well.

"Why are you pushing Ray away, Damian, you should be proud of him for taking care of baby Ramona like this." Barbara Kowalski's voice carried through the screen door as Fraser closed it carefully. He found Ray trying to figure out how to fasten the borrowed car seat into the back of the sedan. He was fuming mad so Fraser let him fuss for a moment until Ramona began to cry. Ray pulled back, standing with his head lying on the top of the car.

"Damn, I just can't do anything to suit that man." The detective grumbled, pulling his hand down over his features as he raised off the car roof.

"What kind of case did Lieutenant Welsh assign you, Ray?" Fraser asked, distracting his friend.

"Ah, a video store robbery." The detective answered opening the driver's side door.

"I gotta, um, gotta stop by the apartment and see if the babysitter is free for Ramona." Ray slipped the key into the ignition and fired the car up.

"I could stay with Ramona while you investigate the video store robbery, Ray." Fraser volunteered freely.

"You sure, buddy, who's gonna lick things, be the human crime lab if you don't go?" Ray grinned evilly.

"Ray, I am not a human crime lab, I have, over the years, had to process crime scenes with the tools at hand, although often times unconventional." Fraser lectured as he set his Stetson on the dash board.

"Yeah, Frase, you just keep tellin' yourself that." Ray drove carefully, puttering down the street past his parents' house.

TYKTYKTYK


	9. Chapter 9

_**Ray's Apartment ….**_

Ray dropped Fraser and Ramona off at his apartment and left in a hurry to get to the crime scene before Welsh demoted him to a meter reader or a crossing guard. The Mountie carried the car seat and diaper bag easily up the steps to the detective's flat on the third floor. When he arrived at his friend's door Stella was unlocking the deadbolt.

"Hello, Ms. Kowalski." Fraser greeted her, startling the willowy blonde.

"Crap, Constable Fraser, don't do that!" She laid one hand over her heart, her eyes closed as she tried to get herself back together.

"My apologies, I didn't realize you didn't hear me coming up the stairs." Fraser let Stella push open the door and go on into Ray's apartment.

"What are you doing here?" The Assistant State's Attorney asked briskly, laying her overloaded briefcase on the kitchen table.

"Ray has been dispatched to a robbery and I volunteered to watch Ramona until he returned." Fraser set the car seat on the coffee table and carefully unfastened Ramona's safety belts and pulled the pink, fleece blanket from around her.

"Oh, so that's why he's not here." Stella stood with one hand on her hip as she looked around the small apartment. It was most definitely a bachelor pad. If it weren't for Fraser's influence she was certain it would smell like sour milk and sweaty socks.

"Is Ray still using a dresser drawer for a bed for the baby?" She turned to Fraser, a curious gleam in her pale blue eyes. Stella would have passed for Ray's sister with her lean features, light blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

"For the time being, yes, the Kowalskis arrived earlier today with Rachel's furniture and personal effects." Fraser lifted the baby out of the heavy, padded seat, careful to support her spine. He caught Stella watching the wiggling infant closely, amazed at the tiny girl clad in a yellow, cotton onesey.

"That's good. Have you heard anything about how Rachel's doing?" Stella stepped closer, watching Ramona as she spread her miniature hand out then clasped it closed again, her fingers barely wider than a coffee swizzle stick.

"No, I haven't, Ray was called away from the Kowalskis' house before I could inquire." Fraser sat down on Ray's sofa, allowing room for Stella.

"Rach was always a little flighty growing up, I guess we just didn't see it as anything more than having a vivid imagination." Stella took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, staring into space.

"Ray mentioned that the three of you were close as children." Fraser adjusted Ramona's bib as she smiled up at him. Having just had a bottle, he knew it for what it was, gas.

"Yeah, it was always Ray, Rachel and Stella, all over the old neighborhood on our bicycles, going to the movies, in school." Stella smiled, remembering Rachel taunting her with Ray and Stella, _'K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love then comes marriage, then comes Stella pushing a baby carriage'._ It had been Rachel that had first know the two were meant for each other.

"Rachel needs your support right now, friends and family make for a speedy recovery." Fraser assured her.

"I plan on going to see her as soon as she's settled in." Stella said, watching Ramona again.

"Would you like to hold her?" Fraser offered, seeing the longing in the woman's face.

"I don't know, I'm not very good with babies." She threw up her hands, shaking her head.

"You'll do fine, Ramona is a very content baby." Fraser persisted, hoping to get her to talk about the problems she and Ray had had but not wanting to pry. Warily, Stella took the baby girl in her arms.

"You're doing fine." Fraser watched the nervous attorney lay the child against her chest, peering down into Ramona's eyes as intently as the child looked up at her.

"She's beautiful." Stella said softly, a weak smile pulling at her lips. Ramona was so warm and soft, twenty-two inches long and nine pounds of pale pinkness.

"Yes, she's a living miracle. I've often thought how babies begin as something so small as two, fragile cells and yet are so resilient. They change and grow so rapidly, depending on someone else entirely for nourishment and protection, each day is a new experience." Fraser waxed philosophical as he watched Stella with Ramona. The attorney turned a rueful eye on the Canadian.

"Nice try, Constable Fraser." She said coldly. Fraser looked at her wide eyed, the picture of innocence.

"I know Ray's told you we fought over me not wanting children, my mind isn't going to change because I held Ramona or because of your flowery speech." Stella's eyes narrowed as she handed Ramona back to the Mountie.

"Understood." Benton nodded as he met her stern gaze.

"Good." Stella's tone was resolute but forced. "I came to get a report Ray left somewhere in this dump." She stood up and began searching for the manilla file folder marked 'Callapari'.

"The Callapari file is on the top of the refrigerator." Fraser turned toward the kitchen where the rummaging woman searched the covered counter tops.

"Of course it is." Stella sighed, finding the file and picking up her briefcase.

"Tell Ray I dropped by and picked it up, okay, Constable Fraser." The attorney snapped, opening the front door.

"I shall, have a good afternoon." Fraser wished her genuinely.

"Yeah, you too." Stella let the door close loudly as she left the apartment.

"Hmm, if only all women were as content and easy to understand as you are, Ramona." Fraser made the puffin face for his captive audience. She gave him a gas-free smile for his effort.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_

Ray walked into his apartment somewhere near midnight, exhausted and so aggravated he nearly vibrated. The house was dark as he opened the door, pulling off his jacket and tossing it on the couch. He heard an indignant whine from Dief when the weight of the heavy, leather coat hit him in mid snore.

"Sorry, fella, didn't know you were there." Ray apologized to the wolf. "Is Fraser in my room?" The detective shook his head when he realized he was talking to the white fur ball.

"Ray?" The Mountie's voice sounded sleepy as he walked out of the small bedroom off the living room.

"Yeah, it's me buddy." Ray answered, taking a seat in the arm chair next to the sofa.

"Rough case?" Fraser took a seat on the sofa. Dief moved his tail just in time for it not to get sat on. He wasn't even supposed to be on the furniture.

"Yeah, three punk kids robbed a video store as part of a gang thing, one of 'em got twitchy and capped the clerk, two inches and it woulda been murder one." Ray rubbed his eyes, gritty and tired from being awake and up nearly twenty hours.

"The clerk survived then?" Fraser assumed.

"Yeah, hopefully, if he makes it through the night." Ray leaned his head against the back of the chair, staring up at the dark ceiling.

"How's, uh, how's Ramona?" Ray turned, a happier note in his voice.

"She's sleeping just now. Stella was here this afternoon, she arrived just before you dropped us off." The Mountie informed his friend.

"Yeah, what'd she want?" Ray didn't sound terribly hopeful.

"The Callapari file. She held Ramona for a minute though." Ben tried edging into the topic although he wasn't entirely sure it was the best time.

"You sweet talked her into it, didn't ya, buddy." Ray rolled his head to look at his friend in the light given off by a nearby neon sign.

"It wasn't her idea, if that's what you mean, Ray." Ben allowed.

"Ah, figures I guess." Ray sounded more sad than tired, almost old. "Think I'll go check on Ramona." the detective stood up slowly and made his way into his bedroom. The baby slept soundly, nestled in the large dresser drawer at the foot of the bed. She wore a pale pink romper with unicorns and rainbows printed on it. All was right with her world. Ray sat down beside her, listening to her breathe and watching her move in her sleep. For a minute the detective envied her.

"Three kids who ain't kids no more, a guy just doin' his second job at video store, tryin' to make a livin' so his kid can got to college and buy a washer for his stinkin' apartment, what's this world comin' to?" Ray said softly to himself. Seeing the clerk's blood covering the tile floor of the all night video rental had been routine, telling his sobbing wife and fifteen year old son that dad's in the hospital on a ventilator hadn't been. Nothing had made sense, the guy had handed over the money to the thieves and was attempting to cower down behind the counter until cops showed up. Now he'd probably be out of work for months, _if_ he lived through the night.

"I can kinda see why Stell didn't want any kids." Ray sighed and laid down on the bed beside the dresser drawer. Before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep. Fraser threw a blanket over him and shooed Dief off the couch so he could sleep a while.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chicago's VA Hospital ….**_

"Hey, Rach, how you doin'?" Ray sat down in a hard, plastic chair beside his cousin's hospital bed. She still lay silently staring up at the ceiling. Nurses came and went, checking her vitals. The detective waited around until he could speak with the doctor.

"Mr. Vecchio," A harried, older man spoke from the door way of the double room. "I'm Doctor Harrison." He shook Ray's hand when he stood up.

"Yeah, just call me Ray, okay." He stood with his hands on his hips, hoping the doctor had good news about his cousin.

"Rachel hasn't been here very long, we're still going through her medical files from the VA in Lexington. So far, she's responded well to the drug therapy." Dr. Harrison referred to Rachel's chart.

"Any clue when she'll, uh, when Rachel will, wake up, er whatever?" Ray wondered, hoping it would be soon.

"These things take time, it could be tomorrow or she may never come back." Dr. Harrison met the younger man's gaze, his dark eyes serious and rather sad. He wore his salt and pepper hair cut close to his head.

"Thanks, Doc." Ray tried to process the information. He was glad Dr. Harrison had put it in such simple terms.

"What do you think caused Rachel's uh, her episode?" Ray wondered, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew the answer but needed reassurance.

"From what I've read of her medical file, it was the intense stress of both having her first child and her husband's death." Dr. Harrison pushed his free hand into his lab coat pocket as he spoke.

"Yeah, probably." Ray agreed.

"She's a young woman, that's in her favor. The best thing for her now is for her friends and family to visit on a regular basis." The doctor recommended.

"Yeah, thanks, I'll pass that along." Ray nodded, lost in his own thoughts.

"Have a good day, Ray." The doctor left the detective standing in the half empty room. To Ray it felt all empty. The girl he'd grown up with wasn't lying in the hospital bed, he didn't know where she was anymore.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_

Welsh watched one of his best detectives walk into the bull pen looking like someone had run over his dog then back up to hit it again. He'd noticed Ray's distraction, more so than usual anyway. The blond detective hadn't slept and seemed to live on coffee and candy. Fraser trailed along behind him, the wolf in tow.

"Detective Vecchio, in here please." Welsh called out from his office door. Ray sighed and dragged himself into the Lieutenant's office. The older officer took his seat behind his desk, a steaming cup of coffee on the corner of his blotter. Fraser closed the door behind himself and Ray.

"Detective, may I ask what the problem is lately, you look like death warmed over." Welsh studied the younger man's haggard face.

"Ramona isn't sleepin' through the night just yet, Sir, guess I ain't sleepin' enough." Ray shoved his hands into the back pockets of his faded jeans.

"I can tell, it's beginning to affect your cases. Do you need to take some time off, you've got vacation days left." Welsh offered. He didn't have any children, but he'd worked with men and some women who did.

"No, Lieutenant, I'll deal, I'll, uh, see if my mum will come over er somethin for a day or two." Ray began to fidget.

"That would be a very good idea, Detective." Welsh got up from his swivel chair and opened the door for the two men. Ray wandered on out into the bullpen.

"Constable Fraser, would you do him a favor?" Welsh spoke low.

"Yes, Sir, of course." Benton agreed, his brows lifted in curiosity.

"Good, make sure he gets some help, if he doesn't get a handle on this I'm afraid I'll have to reassign some of his case load. The video store robbery seems to have hit him hard." Welsh had been briefed on the case. It was tragic, but one he'd encountered a dozen times over through his career as a beat cop then as a detective.

"Yes, Sir, Ray seems to strongly identify with the store clerk who was hospitalized." Fraser informed the weather beaten lieutenant.

"That should be motivation, not a hindrance." Welsh spoke with heavy heart.

_**Later that day ….**_

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are …." Fraser sang quietly as he sat rocking Ramona to sleep for the night. Ray and his mother were busy in his bedroom setting up Ramona's crib and putting away her things. Every so often a muttered curse word would punctuate the still air.

"Here we go, now Ramona won't have to sleep in that dresser drawer anymore." Barbara Kowalski said with satisfaction as she and Ray walked back into the living room.

"Yeah, give her some room to move around." Ray agreed, a set of crescent wrenches in hand and one or two of his knuckles busted.

"Shhh, she's almost asleep." Benton said softly as he held the pink bundle.

"Oh, right." Ray grimaced. The blond detective ran his free hand through his hair as he walked toward the closet near the front door where he kept a set of household tools in an old milk crate.

"Everything is ready for her in the bedroom, Fraser." Barbara hovered near the arm chair where the Mountie sat with the sleeping baby. Carefully, Benton got up and walked softly toward the bedroom. Ray and his mother had cleaned the room thoroughly, placing the crib in the corner along the interior wall and away from the window.

"How's Ray taking all of this, Constable Fraser?" Barbara Kowalski asked just above a whisper. The Mountie looked at her, surprised.

"I'm not certain what you mean, Mrs. Kowalski." Ben resonded as he straightened up.

"I mean, how is Ray doing with Ramona, I know this thing between him and his father has Ray on edge and I'm sure Stella isn't helping him feel any better." Barbara met Benton's gaze, her delicate bone structure creating an agelessness about her.

"Ray isn't certain he's the right person to be taking care of Ramona, but I believe that he'll soon adjust and begin to gain confidence in himself." Fraser stated his opinion freely, bringing a smile to the older woman's face.

"You've been a good friend to my boy, Constable Fraser, those aren't easy to come by and that's a fact. I've seen a change in Ray since he's been at the Twenty-seventh Precinct. I just want to say thank you for that." Barbara knew Fraser well enough to know that he wasn't an overly affectionate person so she laid one hand on his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Ray has been a good friend to me as well, Mrs. Kowalski, it's my honor." Benton laid his hand over hers for a moment.

"Hey, Fraser, ah, it's the 'Ice Queen' on the phone, somethin' about a file, I don't know, wanna take it?" Ray poked his head into the bedroom. He looked from his mother to his best friend.

"Yes, thank you kindly, Ray." Fraser nodded before turning to leave the room. After he'd gone, Ray came in to look down at Ramona.

"What was that between you and Fraser, Ma?" Ray asked, pulling Ramona's jumper down away from her face a bit.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I just wanted to thank Constable Fraser for helping you the way he has." Barbara answered.

"Good, cause I wouldn't wanna tell Dad you were cheatin' on him with Fraser er somethin'." Ray teased his mother.

"He wishes, Damion Kowalski is _stuck_ with me." Barbara slapped her son's arm playfully. They both laughed.

"Come on, I'll make your favorite, chicken-stuffing casserole." Barbara nudged her son with her elbow.

"That sounds good, you'll have to give the recipe to Fraser. Knowin' him, he'll put somethin' like duck er whatever in it." Ray grinned.

"He does combine some of the most interesting ingredients, but it's always good." Barbara didn't think she wanted to know what was in most of Fraser's dishes or she'd never try them again.

"Your cookin' is always better, Ma." Ray squeezed his mother's shoulder for a moment as they entered the living room.

"I'm afraid Inspector Thatcher requires me at the consulate, I'll see you tomorrow, Ray, Mrs. Kowalski." Ben adjusted his Stetson and grabbed his jacket from the arm chair.

"See you later, buddy." Ray wished the Mountie.

"Be careful, Constable Fraser." Barbara waved as he closed the door behind him.

_**TYKTYKTYKTYK**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Twenty-seventh Precinct ….**_

By the time Ramona was three months old Ray had grown accustomed to having her around. Between work, Ramona and visiting Rachel, the detective had a busy schedule. Barbara Kowalski took care of the baby while Ray was at the precinct and after work it was up to him to care for the little one. Fraser spent most of his free time with his best friend and unofficial partner just as before. Although they spent much more time watching hockey on television and less in the field. Ramona flourished with so much attention.

"Hello, Ray, have you had dinner yet?" Fraser walked into the apartment, Stetson twirling on one hand. Diefenbaker trotted in behind him.

"Yep, ate a while ago, how 'bout you?" The off duty detective asked as he drank a cup of coffee. Ramona sat in a crank swing near the sofa where he sat. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw Fraser.

"I'm fine, thank you kindly." Fraser laid his Stetson on the kitchen table and walked into the living area. Ramona shrieked in delight. Diefenbaker took his spot on the floor near the baby, laying where he could watch the infant as she swung.

"Hello, Ramona, how are you today?" Fraser knelt down and tickled the baby's stomach a moment.

"She sure loves her Uncle Ben." Ray grinned, pulling his eyes away from the television.

"Ray, I'm not actually Ramona's uncle." Fraser corrected as he cranked the swing for her.

"Yeah, I know, it's more of a respect thing than a real uncle thing. I used to call Dad's best friend "Uncle George" as a kid." Ray shrugged.

"Ah, I see." The Mountie nodded. He was always amazed at the social customs of the Americans. Uncles who weren't actually uncles at all, nicknames, and a million other things that made Ben appreciate the simplicity of home.

"How's Chicago's chunk of Canada doin'?" Ray clicked the television off when a commercial came on.

"The consulate is fine, thank you for asking, Ray." Fraser answered, still watching Ramona as she waved her arms and feet as the swing swayed back and forth.

"I understand you closed the video store robbery this morning." Fraser began. That case had been a thorn in Ray's side since he'd gotten the call.

"Yep, sure did, I uh, one of my gang snitches called last night, I met him this morning on my way to work. Lock told me where to find the murder weapon. The lab boys took it from there." Ray grinned. It felt good to know that he'd found the guy who'd killed an innocent video clerk. The family would have closure.

The pair talked for a while, Dief watching the baby, his eyes taking in her every move. When Ramona began to cry the wolf stood up.

"I know that cry, diaper time." Ray sighed, pushing himself up off the sofa. He picked Ramona up and took her into the bedroom.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, sounded on the front door while Ray changed baby Ramona.

"Hey, Frase, do me a favor, get that will ya?" Ray called, his head popped out the door. The Mountie looked out the peep hole to see an annoyed Stella Kowalski.

"Good evening, come in." Fraser moved aside to allow her in the kitchen.

"Is Ray around?" She cut to the chase, her mouth drawn into a straight line.

"He's changing Ramona at the moment, would you like anything to drink, tea perhaps?" Fraser offered more like a butler than a Mountie.

"No thanks, Fraser, just came to talk to Ray about the case he closed this morning." Stella set her purse on the kitchen table and walked into the living area.

"Hey, Stella, how are you?" Ray came out of the bedroom, Ramona in his arms. The baby's light eyes turned to look at the pretty blonde standing in the middle of the room.

"Ray, we have to talk about the video store robbery case you closed today." She cast a frigid glare toward Fraser, meaning she wanted to talk in private.

"Yeah, come in here, I have to change Ramona." Ray cocked his head toward his bedroom. The only part of the room that still looked like his was the bed and the top of the dresser. Across the room there was a pink crib, a white and pink changing table and a laundry basket full of pastel baby clothes. Ray walked over to the changing table and laid the squirming, unhappy baby down.

"What's wrong with the case, Stell?" Ray asked as he pulled the snaps of the baby's onesy apart.

"I need more information on your informant, that 'Lock', the DA is hot under the collar about that clerk's death." Stella watched Ray pull out a diaper, wipes and rash cream. It was the absolutely last thing she thought she'd ever see her ex-husband doing. He'd barely been able to clear a clogged drain while they were married. Ramona was healthy and content from everything the ADA could see. Ray's apartment had been cleaner too. She wasn't certain that Fraser wasn't responsible for that though.

"He's a confidential informant, he always gives me good info. I give his name, you all subpena him and I don't get squat out of him ever again." Ray laid it out on the table as he deftly put a clean diaper on the squirming baby.

"Ray, I need the informant's name for the paperwork, I may not have to subpena anyone if the case is strong enough otherwise." Ramona gurgled and cooed as Ray picked her up again.

"I don't know Lock's real name, Stella, it's short for 'Lock and Load', okay." The detective's voice rose a bit.

"Then get it, that gang banger will walk if there's so much as a T that isn't crossed." Stella's voice rose too. Ramona's face began to crumple up as the tension between the adults grew heavier in the room.

"I handed you all the murder weapon on a, on a silver plate." Ray stepped closer to Stella.

"Silver platter, Ray, silver platter, and it won't matter one bit if it gets thrown out on a technicality." Stella didn't back down. Ramona began to cry, her face red and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Sheesh, Stella, great, now she's cryin'." Ray whispered, bouncing the baby as he patted her back for comfort.

"This is one of the many reasons we didn't have children, Ray." Stella whispered as she took a step backward. The overworked lawyer rubbed her light blue eyes for a minute before turning to walk out of the room.

"Stella, wait, okay," Ray called softly.

"What, Ray?" She barked before she thought.

"I'll get Lock's real name, okay." He hated seeing her so tired. "At least she's still passionate." Ray thought to himself as he met her gaze. Once upon a time there was a time when that passion had been directed at him in a loving way. Losing their child had killed a lot of her passion for him, for life, for anything she couldn't control.

"Good, I need it tomorrow, first thing." Stella turned away and left the room, not bothering to acknowledge Fraser as she walked out the front door. She'd seen the pain in Ray's eyes and hated herself for saying anything about their marriage. That had always been one of the buttons she'd pushed before they divorced. This time he hadn't hit her buttons like he would have back then.

Ray walked out into the living room looking ten years older than when he'd went in there. Ramona frowned, tears drying on her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Ray, I couldn't help but hear the argument." Fraser asked, taking in his friend's appearance.

"Ah, Stella got pissed about my informant." Ray waved it away. Her words still stung.

"Oh, I see." Fraser knew better but didn't say anything.

"Hey, Frase, would you watch Ramona while I grab a diapers, uh, and a few things?" Ray asked, hitching his thumb toward the door.

"Gladly, Ray, take your time." The Mountie knew for a fact that Ramona was well stocked in diapers and wipes.

"Thanks, buddy, appreciate it." Ray handed the infant over to 'Uncle Ben', then grabbed his coat and car keys. Ramona quieted down almost immediately.

Ray fired up the GTO but even the powerful purr of the American classic muscle car couldn't sooth his raw mood. He shifted it into gear and pulled away from the apartment building. The grocery store wasn't far away, the detective could have walked there if he'd had a notion. Instead he blew right past the small establishment. In only minutes he found himself outside Stella's apartment building. It was uptown compared to his working class digs. There were Cadillac and Lexus in the driveways Ray cruised past until he came to the end of the street.

"It coulda been you and me, Stella." Ray said softly to himself as he sat outside her apartment building. When the newscaster on the radio began telling the local weather the off duty detective fired the car up and drove back across town slowly.

"Hey, Fraser." Ray opened the front door and slipped in quietly. The Mountie sat on the sofa, the television off.

"Hello, Ray." Benton turned around slightly to see his friend come in empty handed.

"What's up?" The blond detective peered over his shoulder. A Louis L' Amour book lay open on the Mountie's knee.

"I was just reading to Ramona before bed." Benton indicated the book.

"A western, Fraser, she's a little girl." Ray scoffed.

"The genre isn't important, Ray, she's comforted by the sound of one's voice, the steady rhythm." Benton put a grocery receipt in place as a bookmark.

"Yeah, if you say so." Ray still seemed skeptical.

"I thought you went to the grocery, Ray?" Fraser asked as the other man rounded the sofa to take a seat in the arm chair.

"Nah, I just needed to get out, you know." Ray shrugged as he dragged his hands down his face.

"The exchange with Stella was quite upsetting." Nothing put the detective in a funk like words with his ex-wife or a criminal getting away from justice.

"Yeah, what she said was a, a um, low blow." Ray talked with his hands as he stared at the television screen.

"I'm not certain how much help I would be, but if you'd like to talk, Ray," Ben's voice trailed off.

"Ah, thanks, buddy, I'm all talked out." He'd talked about it, prayed about it, drank about it, cursed, ranted and raved about losing Stella. None of it had done any good.

"I guess I kinda hoped Ramona would make Stella see that we coulda had kids of our own." Ray shrugged again. He seemed tired and older than his years.

"She may still change her mind." Fraser offered hopefully. Ramona's big blue eyes drooped as she laid contentedly in his arms.

"If wishes were horses, buddy." Ray waved him away.

"I suppose I should lay Ramona down now." Ben changed the subject as he carefully stood up and walked into the bedroom. He heard Ray open the refrigerator then the sound of a can cracking open.

"Ray, turning to alcohol at a time like this isn't a wise decision." Fraser caught Ray in mid drink as he leaned on the counter.

"Oh, it's beer alright, Fraser," Ray held up a can for his inspection. "it's _root beer,_ that A&W stuff you got the other day." He grinned as he pulled out another can for the Mountie.

"My apologies, Ray, I should have known better."

"Nah, you're just lookin' out for me, I get it." Ray tossed him the aluminum can with a shrug.

"Still, assumptions are dangerous in police work." Fraser continued as he pecked on the top of the can so it wouldn't spew all over his clean, flannel shirt.

"You know what they say when you assume, don't ya?" The blond man's blue eyes took on a devilish glint.

"No, what, Ray?" Fraser fell for the old joke.

"When you assume it makes an ass of u and me." It took a moment for Benton to get the joke.

"That is juvenile, Ray, truly juvenile." Benton said as his friend snickered and laughed. Still, he was glad to see him laughing instead of depressed.

"Oh, come on, Fraser, juvenile jokes are the best, didn't they tell 'em when you were a kid in the Yukon?"

"Yes, there was a certain amount of childish bathroom humor among the Inuit, but my grandmother strictly forbid such content in our house." Benton began telling of one such lesson he'd learned when his grandmother applied the board of education to the seat of his learning.

"Well, that explains a lot." Ray raised an eyebrow.

By the end of the evening, baby Ramona slept peacefully while Ray and Fraser talked. The Chicago detective felt better after his encounter with Stella. Fraser felt glad to have helped his friend.

_**TYKTYKTYKTYK**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**The Twenty-seventh Precinct ….**_

_**The Next Day …. **_

Fraser walked into the precinct behind Ray. Ramona sat in her stroller looking at the people and colors around her. Diefenbaker strolled in, bringing up the rear. Huey sat working his computer, Dewey peering over his shoulder.

"Well, if it isn't 'Mr. Mom'." Dewey snickered, pointing at the detective, the Mountie, the baby and the wolf.

"Yeah, at least I didn't drag up out of the slimy end of the gene pool like you, Dewey." Ray tossed right back at him.

"Ray." Fraser admonished just shy of a growl.

"For once we agree." Frannie sauntered up to Ray's desk just as he sat down and began rifling through the desk drawers.

"Agree on what, Frannie?" Ray asked without looking up.

"That Dewey came out of the stagnant end of the gene pool. How's Ramona?" The Civilian Aide knelt down, her assets on display as she unbuckled the infant.

"I resent that, my parents were only fifth cousins, that's not illegal." Dewey opened his mouth before thinking. Fraser barely kept a skeptical brow from lifting.

_"And the Americans make snide remarks about us."_ He thought to himself.

"Francesca, may I have your permission to film you with Ramona?" Fraser asked as he pulled the video camera out of Ramona's diaper bag.

"Yeah, sure, Fraser, anything for you." Frannie batted her eyelashes at him coquettishly.

"Thank you kindly, Francesca." The Mountie quickly started the device up and zoomed in on Ramona's face as she took in the person holding her.

"What's this for anyway?" Frannie asked still smiling into the camera. Her dark eyes went from the camera lens to Fraser's face.

"For Rachel, when she recovers." The Mountie answered, panning the lens away from Frannie to capture the bull pen around them.

"How's she doin'?" The Civilian Aide untied the woolly, pink toboggan on Ramona's head and threw it in the stroller seat.

"There's been no improvement I'm afraid. Doctors aren't overly optimistic at this point." Fraser answered over his shoulder. His Stetson sat precariously on the back of his head as he studied the view finder.

"That's too bad." Frannie shook her head as Ramona tried to grab her shiny, dangling earrings.

"Fraser, you sure you didn't move my health insurance stuff?" Ray's voice cut through the din as he turned his top drawer out onto his desk top.

"I have no idea where you've stored that information, Ray. You took care of those forms while I was on vacation, remember?" Fraser referred to the switch between the real Ray Vecchio and the undercover detective currently known as Ray Vecchio.

"Yeah, right, I did." The blond, replacement detective's face was pinched as he tried to remember that far back.

"Ray, may I speak to you?" Stella's voice drew everyone's attention as she sailed through the throng of people scattered between the entrance to the bull pen and Ray's desk near the rear.

"As if this day wasn't bad enough." Ray muttered when he saw his ex-wife on the war path.

"Hey, Stella, how's it goin'?" The detective pasted on a more pleasant attitude.

"You were supposed to have the legal name of that source to me first thing this morning. Now here it is almost eleven and I still don't have it. The DA is breathing down my neck, and guess what, he's got bad breath." She ignored the video camera, the other detectives and uniformed officers staring at her. Fraser instinctively turned to see what the lady lawyer was saying, the camera still on his shoulder. Between him and Stella stood Francesca. The spicy Italian bristled, biting her lower lip to keep from shouting.

"Stella, now's not a good time, okay. Ramona had a doctor's appointment this morning is why I didn't get you that name first thing." Ray didn't back down, Stella had been his sparring partner too often in recent years for that.

"And that's my problem how?" Stella crossed her arms over her chest, glaring back at him.

"I'm not sayin' it is, Stella, I'm just sayin' cut me a little slack, alright. Not everyone's perfect like you, some of us have responsibilities other than our all consuming careers er whatever." Ray's jaw worked in frustration. He still felt hurt from their fight the night before. Stella looked shocked, her light blue eyes wide and her mouth open.

"I still need your informant's legal name for the paperwork, Detective." She spat out after a long moment of silence. Ray watched her walk toward the door, his eyes blazing. The detective leaned on his desk top, head hung as he took a deep breath to stop himself from doing or saying something stupider than what he already had. Fraser shut off the camera and set it on the seat opposite the desk.

"Ray," Before he could say another word the detective's head popped up.

"I'm fine, Fraser, it's just me and Stella stuff, okay." He straightened himself up and grabbed his desk drawer, shoving it back into place.

"Come on, Fraser, let's go down to uh, to Human Resources." Ray turned to Francesca.

"Mind watching Ramona for a few, Frannie?" It was more of a demand than a request.

"Yeah, sure, no problem, Ray." Frannie shrugged, Ramona against her arm, peering over her shoulder.

"Thanks." Ray walked out of the bull pen quickly. Fraser smiled an apology and followed in Ray's wake.

_**The District Attorney's Office …. **_

Frannie had been to the District Attorney's office before, as part of her job. It wasn't a big deal to the Civilian Aide. This time her visit was personal.

"Is Kowalski in?" Frannie asked the clerk scouring a huge legal text.

"Yeah, just let me tell her you're here." The twenty-ish law student picked up the phone and dialed.

"Yes, there's someone here to see you from the twenty-seventh." The clerk hung up and pointed Frannie toward the glass and wood door between them.

"Thanks, Kyle." Frannie grinned at the young man and walked into Stella's office. The ADA's office was modernist, all silver accents and glass. It was as a cold place devoid of color.

"Hello Mrs. Vecchio, what have you got for me today?" Stella looked up from her computer screen to the curvy Civilian Aide.

"I've got a piece of advice for you," Frannie paused, nervous. The anger she'd felt seeing Ray being scolded like an errant schoolboy had begun to die.

"Oh?" Stella leaned back against her leather roller chair. Francesca Vecchio's reputation as a spitfire had reached even the DA's office.

"Ray's doin the best he knows how, dealing with Ramona by himself, working and trying to visit his cousin in the hospital every few days. I know he's your ex-husband but that doesn't give you the right to talk to him like he's some rookie just out of the Academy. I don't know what this thing is between the two of you, I don't care, what I do care about is Ray and baby Ramona. So get over yourself for Pete's sake, this ain't about you, he's bustin his butt for that baby girl." Frannie had worked up a good, mad speech as she stood across the desk from Stella. The attorney looked at her as if she had two heads.

"My relationship with Ray is none of your business, Miss Vecchio and I'll thank you to stay out of it." Stella finally retorted. It wasn't often that she was on the receiving end of a telling off.

"Can it sister, I'm makin' it my business to see that Ray gets the help he needs to do right by Ramona. If you don't like it, tough, deal with it." Frannie fired back, unfazed. She argued with her siblings for fun growing up. Stella Kowalski was an amateur by comparison.

"That dummy still loves you but you keep pushing him away. I'd give my eye teeth if I could get a man to look at me with half as much love as he sees you with." Frannie's tone became softer.

"I know that, but there's nothing between us anymore." Stella's cold tone and even colder expression didn't fool the Civilian Aide, she knew a mask when she saw one.

"Keep telling yourself that and it'll be true someday." Frannie turned and walked out of the office, closing the door noisily behind her.

"See you later, Kyle." Frannie winked at the gaping clerk before heading out of the building.

_**TYKTYKTYKTYK**_

Ray took Ramona to his parents' house after lunch. The small, white house smelled like fresh baked biscuits and coffee. It always smelled good, like home.

"Hello, Constable Fraser, how are you today?" Barbara Kowalski asked the red serge clad officer as she took Ramona from Ray.

"Quite well, thank you kindly for asking." Fraser set Ramona's empty car seat and full diaper bag on the coffee table in the small living room.

"Where's Pop?" Ray asked, pulling off Ramona's toboggan. He had a tendency to keep her over dressed when going outside.

"He's in the garage, working on an Impala for some boys." Mrs. Kowalski pointed toward the building behind the house nearly as big as the house itself.

"Thanks Ma, think I'll go, ah, go see him." Ray walked toward the back door in the kitchen without another word.

Alone, Mrs. Kowalski turned to Fraser. It wasn't like her son to come in and not give her a hug or a quick peck on the cheek.

"What's going on with Ray, he seems tense." Mrs. Kowalski's light eyes scrutinized the Mountie with an all knowing air.

"Stella came to his apartment last night, there was an argument. She also came to the precinct this morning. It seems they both still have unresolved issues stemming from their marriage." Fraser said truthfully.

"Unresolved issues is a nice way of putting it. Losing that baby nearly killed both of them." Barbara shook her head as she fished out Ramona's bottle. The baby's blue eyes sparkled at the sight of her milk.

"Ray hasn't discussed that aspect of his marriage with me in detail, did they seek any kind of couples counseling?" Fraser wondered aloud.

"No, I think both of them just wanted to put it past them, but how do you put something like that away?" Barbara moved into the kitchen where she began preparing Ramona's bottle on the stove.

"I'm not an expert but I don't think that's possible, not entirely." Fraser toyed with his Stetson thoughtfully. He couldn't imagine losing a child.

"Ray and Stella have both hurt for so long, they've hurt each other. Stella wasn't always the way she is now. When she and Ray were younger they were so happy, so carefree. She was like my daughter, I hate seeing her … and Ray, so sad." Barbara tested the milk's temperature before giving Ramona the bottle.

"As do I, Ma'am." Fraser sighed.

"That's why I think Ramona's been such a blessing, I see the way she and Ray are getting along, he's beginning to settle down again." Barbara smiled as she pressed a kiss against the baby's forehead. Ramona blinked as her chubby hands laid along each side of the bottle she seemed intent on drinking.

"Yes, so he has." Fraser agreed, his mind going over scenarios on how to help Ray and Stella have closure.

"Hey, Fraser, when are you due at the consulate?" Ray's voice broke into the conversation.

"Oh dear, I should have been there five minutes ago." Fraser checked his watch.

"Pitter patter, let's get at 'er." Ray rubbed his hands together.

"I'll see you later, Ma, thanks for taking Ramona for me this afternoon." Ray kissed both ladies on the cheek before hustling out into the fall air.

"You're welcome, Ray, I'll see you for dinner, okay?" Mrs. Kowalski called as she followed them to the front door. "both of you, for dinner, understand?" She pointed toward both younger men.

"Thank you kindly, Mrs. Kowalski." Fraser waved to her before he slid into the GTO. She smiled as she watched them drive away. Ever the optimist, she had a feeling things were going to be fine.

_**TYKTYKTYKTYK**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Ray's Apartment ….**_

Ray dropped Fraser off at the consulate after having dinner with the Kowalskis. He and Ramona drove slowly off towards his apartment for some cartoons and a good night's sleep.

"Thank you for letting me off, Ray, I thoroughly enjoyed your mother's meatloaf." The Mountie stooped down to look through the open car door.

"No problem, Fraser, see you tomorrow." Ray moved the rear view mirror to look at Ramona in the back seat. Diefenbaker finally dragged his furry hide out of the back seat before Fraser closed the door. The wolf had taken a liking to the little one. Ramona too liked to watch the white fur ball when he was nearby.

Ray set Ramona's car seat on the sofa before he even closed the front door. Quickly, he set her in her swing and cranked the handle while he took care of the diaper bag, the front door and his jacket.

"Can I help you with that, Ray?" Stella's voice made the detective whirl around.

"Hey, Stella, what's up?" Ray tried to keep his tone casual but he wondered if his ex-wife was there to rag him out about the video store robbery or something else. He still stung from her low blow just twenty-four hours before.

"I was hoping we could talk, Ray." Stella closed the front door after he stepped back through.

"Yeah, just a minute." Ray slipped out of his jacket, tossing it over the back of the arm chair.

"Want a cup of coffee?" He offered as he began working the percolator.

"Yes, thanks." Stella wandered into the living room, her eyes scanning the room. A new photo of Ray and Ramona sat atop the television. He stood on his parents' porch holding the infant, his face lit up in a happy smile. He looked younger with a smile Stella thought to herself. It had been too long since she'd seen him smile, since she'd put a one on his face.

"I made Rachel a copy and put it in her room. They wouldn't let me put it in a frame, somethin' about the glass. Ma had it laminated for me." Ray walked into the living room to stand beside her.

"She's missing a lot of her daughter's life." Stella turned to look Ray in the eye, their bodies so close she could see a chilli stain on his t-shirt and smell his cologne.

"Yeah, that's why Fraser wants to use that video camera everywhere we go." Ray rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"I had a visitor this afternoon, you'll never guess who." Stella stepped away, looking at the calendar on the wall next to the clock.

"Ma?" Ray took a stab in the dark.

"Francesca Vecchio." Stella sat down on the couch, arms crossed and her light eyes cold.

"Yeah, what'd Frannie see you about?" Ray remained standing, his hands in his hip pockets.

"She gave me a mouthful about how I shouldn't have talked to you like a rookie just out of the Academy, she also told me to get over myself that everything isn't about me." The ADA pursed her frosted rose lips together as she watched Ray's reaction.

"Well, you know Frannie, she's a loose cannon." The detective shrugged warily. Frannie had always been one to pop off when she saw something she didn't agree with.

"She certainly made me re-think what I'd said. Francesca was right, you do have other responsibilities now." Stella watched Ramona swing idly. "I can see you're taking good care of Rachel's daughter."

"Ma and Fraser help a lot." Ray waved her compliment away.

"Rachel's lucky you were able to take Ramona." Stella just couldn't make herself say what she wanted. Instead she tucked a stray strand of her cottony blonde hair behind her ear.

"Ah, Ma would have if I didn't." Again, he dismissed her almost compliment.

"Why do you do that?" Stella frowned, her lips pursing as she studied the man she once knew so well.

"Do what, what do I do?" Ray asked, still standing near the television.

"You don't let people give you a compliment." She answered, leaning against the back of the sofa to look up at him.

"I get compliments all the time." Ray fibbed, sort of. He did get compliments, he just never felt like he'd done anything special to receive them.

Stella wanted to say more but knew that they were dangerously close to having an argument. She didn't want a repeat of their blow up at the precinct.

"So, how is fatherhood going so far?" Her tone came out more acidic than she intended.

"It's okay I guess, Ma keeps Ramona while I'm at work, Francesca helps out after hours and there's always Fraser. He's like a, not a dictionary, a um, a walking encyclopedia." The detective grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

"How's Damian feel about this?" Stella saw the friendly grin disappear and a hard, angry look take its' place.

"You know how Dad is." Ray shrugged again, this time moving toward the kitchen. Silently, he made them both a cup of coffee. He still remembered how Stella liked hers.

"Damian Kowalski was always a hard man to get to know, always kept himself closed up tighter than a clam." Stella said as she took the cup from Ray.

"He said what he thought of me often enough as a kid." Ray said morosely. Ramona began to whimper as she swung, her eyes drooping. She was a cranky baby just before bed. Ray set his coffee cup on the television and went to pick her up.

"Come on, sweet pea, let's get ya to bed." He lifted the tired infant against his chest and began shuffling toward the bedroom.

"I guess I should go." Stella sat up on the sofa and set her coffee mug on the table in front of her.

"Nah, stay, she'll be out in no time." Ray lifted one shoulder as he stopped.

"I don't want to intrude, I know schedules are important for kids." The ADA scooted out to the edge of the couch.

"Yeah, she's got a bed time, this won't take long, you can come watch if you want." Ray offered, hoping she wouldn't leave so soon. When they got along it was heaven and hell when the fought. Stella was still the most beautiful woman Ray had ever laid eyes on. She'd grown up gracefully. Ray felt like he'd only half grown up, still lanky, not quite growing into his teeth and ears, all thumbs to boot.

"Okay." Stella took her coffee cup and joined Ray as he walked toward the bedroom. After flipping on the overhead light she surveyed the small room.

"Love what you've done with the place, pink has always been your color, Ray." Stella teased, a mischievous twinkle in her crystal blue eyes.

"Ah, you know me." Ray rolled his eyes, a light chuckle erupting from his lean frame. Stella laughed too and for a moment their eyes met. It was as if the decades had rolled back and they were kids again, teasing each other and falling in love for the first time.

Ramona broke the spell, whimpering again for Ray's attention. He broke his gaze away from Stella.

"Let's run through the check list, clean diaper." He deftly changed her on the changing table and put a purple sleeper on her.

"Anything I can do to help?" The ADA offered, secretly hoping he wouldn't need her.

"Yeah, just turn on the night light, over in the corner." Ray jutted his chin toward the foot of the baby bed where a blue nightlight with a moon and stars design stood in the outlet. Light on, Ray put the baby down on the mattress. He brushed drying tears from her chubby cheeks as she blinked up at him, losing her battle with sleep. Stella stood at his side, watching Ramona as she drifted off.

"You're very good with her." She said softly, her hand lying idly on the wooden rail of the crib.

"She's good with me too." Ray smiled, still watching Ramona, her hands still balled.

_"You would have been a good father."_ Stella thought to herself as she stood watching Ray watch Ramona. _"You are a good father."_ She swallowed hard trying not to give her thoughts away.

"Come on, she's out." Ray moved away from the crib and back toward the living room. Stella followed him, glad he'd turned away from her. Together they walked down the tiny hall and into the living room.

"Hey, I'm sorry Frannie blasted ya this afternoon, she's gonzo protective sometimes." Ray began, trying to keep the good vibes rolling between him and Stella.

"She's something alright, I wasn't taking into consideration that things in your life have changed, what with Ramona and keeping the Vecchio cover." Stella whispered the last part guiltily.

"She's made life interesting. I got asked the other day who mine and Fraser's surrogate was, can you believe that?" The detective snorted, shaking his head. Stella laughed too. She'd heard about the Mountie dressing up as a female teacher shortly after he and the real Ray Vecchio had partnered up. Office gossip around the precinct had been that he was actually a beautiful, if plus sized, woman.

"What did you tell them?" The ADA asked.

"That Fraser was my brother, yeah, it just kinda popped out." Ray shrugged. He and Fraser looked nothing alike. "Guess we coulda been half brothers er somethin'" The detective sat down on the sofa beside Stella after retrieving his coffee.

"Yeah, I guess." Stella still didn't see it.

They sat and talked for a while, catching up on each other's family and careers. It felt good to talk like civilized adults instead of enemies. They talked about old times in high school, people they knew and colleagues they had in common. Neither of them kept track of the time. Church bells chimed eleven when they took notice.

"Jeez, I'd better go, it really is late now and I've got to be in court first thing in the morning." Stella jumped up from the sofa. Ray stood up a little slower, wishing she didn't have to leave. The ADA picked up her purse on the kitchen table and made her way to the door.

"Hey, Stell," Ray said softly as he followed her to the door. She turned back a moment, hand on the door knob.

"Yes, Ray?" She waited for him to speak, wondering what was on his mind. She thought how handsome he was in the dim light of the kitchen light. Stella felt like a teenager again for a minute.

"It's been nice, talkin tonight." He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them from pulling her close and kissing her like they were newlyweds again.

"Yes, it has." Stella smiled wistfully, remembering when they'd talk on the phone until late at night. One or the other of them would fall asleep first and the conversation would be over.

"Good night." Ray wished her, his light blue eyes shining.

"Good night, Ray, I'll see you later." Stella smiled sadly before turning the door knob and leaving the apartment.

"Did I make a mistake divorcing Ray?" The smart, decisive attorney asked herself for the first time since making the decision. She leaned against the wall at the head of the stairs wondering for a moment. She didn't know anymore.

_**TYKTYKTYKTYK**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**The Consulate ….**_

Ray walked into the precinct after dropping Ramona off at his mother's. He sipped his McDonald's drive through coffee, a sausage biscuit in the other hand.

"Hello, Frannie." He grinned as he cruised on by.

"Dewey, Huey, how's life?" The detective duo looked at each other, brows raised in confusion. This wasn't the smart ass greeting they were accustomed to.

"You alright, Ray?" Frannie asked, dropping a file on his disheveled desk.

"Yea, Frannie, I'm good actually." The detective sat down in his desk chair and put his feet on the corner, a beaming smile on his face.

"Detective, is this your job or Club Med?" Lieutenant Welsh's voice boomed from behind him.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Welsh." Ray put his feet down and sat up straight. Welsh looked at him the same way Huey and Dewey had.

"The file Francesca put on your desk is your new assignment for Friday. You have been chosen to speak at Career Day for Ms. Jenkins' third grade class." Welsh smiled devilishly. The new guy always got this assignment and this year it was Kowalski.

"And I was havin' such a sweet day." Ray groused as he opened the folder. There in front of him was a pink flier with large, bold type. _You are invited to Mayfield Elementary's Career Day. _Flowers twined around the edges of the paper.

"Sheesh, how come these things are always so girly?" Ray closed the file, not bothering to look at the date, time or address.

_**Thursday Night ….**_

Ray cracked open a can of vegetable soup and put it in a microwaveable bowl before hitting the digits on the ancient machine. Ramona sat in her swinger, gurgling happily as she watched Diefenbaker turn around three times to take a nap on the floor. Fraser sat on the sofa, flipping through the channels to find a History Chanel program about Arctic snowshoe rabbits he'd seen advertised.

"What are your plans for tomorrow, Ray?" The Mountie asked without looking backward.

"I have to take Ma to the heart doctor, she's gotta be there at eight, then I gotta go to some career day thing at the elementary school." Ray answered as he leaned on the kitchen counter, watching his soup turn in the microwave.

"Who is taking care of Ramona?" Benton asked, stopping his channel surfing to look back at Ray.

"I thought you could, you'll be around the consulate all day." Ray shrugged, not worried.

"No, I won't, Ray, Inspector Thatcher and I are flying to Ottawa tomorrow morning, our flight leaves at six." Fraser shook his head.

"Let me call Frannie, she's always up to babysitting on her day off." Ray picked up his phone and began dialing his undercover sister's number.

"Francesca isn't home, she's staying in Dayton for her first cousin's wedding, she's the maid of honor. I believe she said this is her eighth bridesmaid's dress." Fraser looked to the ceiling as if it were written up there.

"Yeah, that is right." Ray swore as the microwave began beeping. "Guess I'll just have to take Ramona with me to the school." The baby let out a squeal of delight as if she knew what the conversation was about.

"I don't imagine Lieutenant Welsh will approve of having a baby around the bullpen." Fraser pointed out, going back to channel surfing.

"Welsh would go bananas wouldn't he." Again Ray swore. Dief growled at the profanity. He'd heard the tone more than the actual works.

"Have you considered asking your father if he'd watch Ramona for a few hours, at least until your shift ends." Fraser suggested in his helpful tone of voice.

"Nah, Dad don't take care of no body but him and Mom." Ray dismissed. The detective pulled his bowl out of the microwave, burning his fingers in the process.

"Perhaps Stella wouldn't mind helping out, you said she seemed more cooperative when you spoke with her the other day." Fraser watched his friend's reaction as he sat on the sofa beside him, soup in one hand and a table spoon in the other.

"I'll call Dad after I eat, maybe he'll help." Ray avoided Fraser's curious gaze, digging into his soup instead.

"Yes, perhaps." Fraser said neutrally. Scenes from the wastelands near the polar cap began scrolling across the television screen.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_

"Hey Ma, is Dad around?" Ray sat with his elbows on his knees, his left hand rubbing the bridge of his nose while he held the phone in the left.

"He's in the garage, is something the matter with the GTO?" Barbara Kowalski asked, thinking the only reason her husband and son talked lately was that classic car.

"No, the car's runnin like a top, I need to ask him a favor." She heard the tension in her son's voice.

"Ask me, maybe I can help."

"I was hopin Dad would take Ramona for a few hours tomorrow after lunch, everyone else is busy." Ray ran his hand down his face, trying to push away his dilemma.

"You do have a problem." Barbara agreed.

"Yeah, you have a heart doctor's appointment, Fraser's gotta leave with his boss, Frannie's gone for a weddin', that's everyone I'd trust Ramona with." Ray sighed, "I've used all my sick leave and vacation days already."

"Oh my, you really do have a problem. Let me see if I can persuade Damian to take Ramona tomorrow afternoon, okay. I'll call you back." Mrs. Kowalski said good-bye to her only child and hung up.

"How goes the babysitting search?" Fraser returned to the sofa, a bowl of steamed broccoli in one hand and a bottle of ranch dressing in the other. Dief's head shot up at the smell of ranch dressing. He belly crawled over to Fraser, begging for a taste of his favorite dressing. Fraser didn't give in to his pleading, amber eyes or his pitiful whimpers.

"Ma said she'd try to talk him into it, said she'd call me back." Ray leaned his head back on the cushions, groaning.

"Is she usually persuasive?" Benton asked, Dief changing begging tactics at his feet.

"Ha! The only thing Ma ever talked Dad into was gettin married and we're still wonderin how."

Ray scoffed.

"If it comes down to it I'll have to take an unpaid sick day er somethin'." Ray pushed off the couch and went to pick Ramona up. He sat back down with her, the baby laying in a mostly upright position against his chest as she sat on his thigh. Ramona looked around at her new scenery. Wispy, blonde curls had began to grow on her head and her eyes had settled on a light blue, like Ray's. Her little, chubby hands moved for the bowl of broccoli and ranch dressing Fraser held, her little pink tongue darting out.

"I wonder if Ramona here likes ranch dressing, give her a nibble, Fraser." Ray urged him. One of the most entertaining parts of being Ramona's guardian was trying baby food with her. Ray would take a small bite with an adult spoon then give her a bite with her baby spoon. Ramona made some of the funniest faces he'd ever seen. She'd shudder and stick her tongue out to spit it out. He'd laughed until he cried more than once so far.

Fraser took a small spear of broccoli dipped in the dressing and dabbed it on her tongue. Ramona took her tongue back in and tasted the ranch dressing a moment before a smiling. She leaned toward the bowl, wanting more.

"She likes it, greatness." Ray beamed, momentarily taken away from the next day's problems.

"It wouldn't be prudent to give her very much, the spices may upset her stomach." Fraser cautioned.

"Oh yeah, and she can puke like that chick from the _Exorcist_." Of course Fraser had to have the movie explained to him.

After the History Channel program went off Ray put Ramona down for the night. He and Fraser stood at the side of the baby bed looking down at the sleeping infant. Ramona's dark lashes lay on her cheeks like lace as she breathed evenly. Fraser wondered what it would be like to have a child of his own, to be standing over them in a house of his own, his wife beside him.

"I put that uh, that dream thingy you gave me over Ramona's crib, I give it a spin and she watches it." Ray twirled the handmade dream catcher gently.

"Perhaps she would like a mobile, I could carve the figures for you to assemble." The Mountie offered.

"Nah, I kinda like to think that it's keepin her dreams nice for her." Ray shrugged, running a tender finger over a curl as he peered down at her.

"That's a wonderful thought, Ray." Benton smiled as he too looked down at the baby. She'd become a staple in his life and after such a short time. He loved to play peek-a-boo with her, even though Ramona was a bit young to understand the concept. Benton read to her, he enjoyed that as much as she seemed to.

The phone in the living room rang, pulling both men out of their thoughts.

"I'd better get that, it's probably Ma sayin Dad won't help." Ray sighed, shuffling out of the room. A moment later he answered the phone.

"Hey, what's up?"

Fraser followed a moment later and took a seat on the sofa, quietly listening to Ray's end of the conversation.

"That's great, I'll be at the hospital to see her tomorrow, first thing." Ray's eyes glowed bright as he turned to his friend.

"I'll call Welsh and tell him somethin's come up." The detective hung up a moment later.

"Was that Mrs. Kowalski, Ray?" The detective got to his feet, phone still in hand.

"Yeah, Rachel's talkin, sittin up, Ma said the doctors tell her it's a good thing." He punched in Lieutenant Welsh's phone number, brows knit as he struggled to see without his prescription glasses.

"That's wonderful, perhaps Rachel will be recovered enough to come home in the coming months." Fraser offered hopefully.

"Yeah, hope so." Ray met his friend's eyes as he waited on Welsh to answer the phone.

_**TYKTYKTYK**_


End file.
